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A number of new mortgage deals have gone on the market this week.

Commenting on the launch of HSBC’s 1.99% discount mortgage deal and Santander’s mortgage rate cuts, Hannah-Mercedes Skenfield, mortgages channel manager at moneysupermarket.com, said: "Any cuts in rates and fees is good news for mortgage borrowers, and its great to see Santander and HSBC leading the charge by announcing changes and additions to their mortgage offerings.

House purchase activity in Scotland continued to pick up in the final three months of 2009, according to data released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

There were 14,200 loans for house purchase in the fourth quarter (worth £1.6billion) – up 4% by number and 5% by value from the preceding three months. Growth in the Scottish market was a little slower than in the UK as a whole – which saw a 9% increase in house purchase activity in the fourth quarter and a 62% increase year on year.

Consumer demand for mortgage advice increased sharply in January, according to website unbiased.co.uk.

It reported a 50% rise in consumers looking for details of a whole-of-market mortgage adviser this January, compared to January 2009.

Gross mortgage lending declined to an estimated £9.1billion in January, a 32% fall from £13.4billion in December and a 21% fall from £11.5billion in January 2009, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

A decline is typically experienced between December and January. However, this is the lowest monthly total since February 2000 (£7.9billion) and the lowest January total since 2000 (£7.4billion).

After a chaotic year which saw the credit crunch emerge into a full-blown recession, property prices plummet, lenders tighten their criteria, and mortgage borrowers befuddled – latest figures from advice website Unbiased.co.uk, show that more than 70,000 consumers sought guidance from a whole-of-market mortgage adviser in 2009.

First-time buying held the top spot as the most popular advice category, accounting for an average of 40% of consumer inquiries for the whole year.

The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) has called for the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to ensure its Mortgage Market Review does not excessively restrict mortgage market activity.

AMI is concerned that the review does not adequately consider its impact on how consumers buy and sell property. AMI also warns that the proposals, which focus on a minority of consumers, have the potential to adversely affect the majority, who are responsible consumers.

Housing charity Shelter has responded to the latest Council of Mortgage Lenders' figures showing there were 46,000 repossessions last year and 53,000 predicted repossessions this year.

Shelter Chief Executive Campbell Robb said: "It is still completely unacceptable that 46,000 homeowners lost their home through repossession last year - the highest for 14 years. Behind each one of these numbers is a heartbreaking story of a family losing their home and having to rebuild their lives.

With a number of building societies increasing their standard variable rates (SVR) on mortgages, many borrowers who are sat on SVR deals are considering whether now is the right time to remortgage.

Analysis from moneysupermarket.com shows that borrowers on the majority of SVR deals would be wise to consider switching - especially as other lenders are expected to increase their SVR rates.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has banned mortgage intermediary Andrew Emelife for knowingly submitting mortgage applications to lenders that contained false and misleading income information.

Emelife also commissioned an accountant to provide false accountants statements for himself and at least one customer to commit mortgage fraud.

A new mortgage product aimed at investors looking to purchase or refinance properties in need of refurbishment has been launched.

The Refurbishment Mortgage offered by commercial and buy-to-let mortgage broker and packager Mortgages for Business, will provide a one-stop-shop deal for these investors. Loans will be based on up to 70% of the property value after refurbishment with a works retention at outset. Rates will be set at 5% above base with a 1% loading during the refurbishment phase.