Societies ahead in changing market

The portal put Yorkshire Building Society's offering top during the first quarter of 2008, with Furness BS coming second and Chorley and West Bromwich building societies in joint third position.

However Abbey, HSBC and the Co-operative Bank all moved up mform.co.uk's list of best buys, showing the speed at which the market is currently changing.

Francis Ghiloni, mform.co.uk marketing and business development director, said: “The mortgage market has gone through an unprecedented period of turmoil in the past three months with products being withdrawn and tougher conditions being imposed on borrowers. Some lenders have effectively shut up shop.

“Borrowers need to understand that simply because a lender was excellent when they last bought a mortgage, it doesn’t follow that they will still be the best. It changes every day which is why borrowers should search the market as widely as possible when sourcing a mortgage."