Halifax has become the latest lender to cut mortgage rates this week after it announced reductions of up to 0.71 percentage points.

HSBC, Nationwide and TSB have also cut rates on some products, despite the Bank of England’s decision last week to hike interest rates for the 14th time in a row.

Halifax’s new deals, due to be introduced on Friday, include the offer of a five-year fixed rate of 5.28%, a 0.71 percentage point drop.

Two-year fixed-rate loans will fall by as much as 0.27 percentage points.

The rush to slash rates comes amid a slowdown in the housing market, with experts warning that stretched affordability for mortgages is hitting demand.

Nationwide reported the biggest drop in annual house prices in 14 years on its index last week, after it found that property values declined 3.8% in July.

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Separate figures by Halifax reported a 2.4% year-on-year fall in July.

Imogen Pattison, an assistant economist at Capital Economics, forecast that price drops would continue in the coming months and may accelerate next year.

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