Five-year high for small deposit mortgages Loans to borrowers with a deposit of less than 15pc, which is most common with first-time buyers, increased by a third between December and January with the total - 7,758 loans - the highest since February 2008, according to the latest Mortgage Monitor from chartered surveyors e.surv. Across the market, the number of mortgage approvals also hit a five-year high in January. According to the firm, the combination of falling mortgage rates, an increased variety of products and an improvement in lender confidence led to a 17pc rise in overall approvals in January compared with a month before. Richard Sexton, business development director of e. surv, said the figures were "a most encouraging sign" and followed the apparent success of the Funding for Lending Scheme. "After an inauspicious start last autumn, Funding for Lending has come good," he said. "It has flooded lenders" balance sheets with cheaper funds, which has encouraged them to reduce mortgage rates to record lows and roll out a much wider range of mortgages for high loan-to-value borrowers. It is helping clear the logjam in the first-time buyer market. Under the FLS, which was launched in August, the Bank of England offers cheap funds to banks and building societies, provided that the money is then lent to individuals and companies. According to statisticians Moneyfacts.co.uk, the cost of five and two-year fixed-rate loans are now at the lowest level since its records began. Figures released today by the Bank of England show that the monthly interest rate charged on a two-year fixed-rate mortgage with 75pc LTV fell to 3.1pc in January from 3.35pc in December and 3.69pc in August 2013, when the Funding for Lending Scheme was launched. For a five-year (75pc LTV) fixed-rate mortgage the monthly interest rate fell to 3.76pc in January from 3.89pc in December and 4.11pc in August.