Banks drop mortgage rates to new lows with a five-year fixed deal for as little as 2.48% HSBC will launch its lowest ever five-year fixed rate mortgage on Monday The 2.4% deal will be available to borrowers with 40% deposit Announced as lenders continue to undercut each otherÂ in latest rate war Homeowners are set to be given a boost in the run-up to Christmas as banks drop their mortgage rates to new lows.Â HSBC will launch its lowest ever five-year fixed-rate mortgage at 2.48 per cent. The deal comes with a Â£999 fee and is available to borrowers with a 40 per cent deposit from Monday. It is the first five-year fix priced at under 2.5 per cent since the summer 2013, when Yorkshire Building Society offered a 2.44 per cent deal. Lowest on the market: HSBC will launch its lowest ever five-year fixed-rate mortgage at 2.48 per cent. The deal comes with a Â£999 fee and is available for borrowers with a 40 per cent deposit from Monday The deal - the lowest rate on the market - is announced as lenders continue to undercut each other in the latest rate war.Â A string of lenders have been slashing their rates since the start of autumn and mortgage experts predict there will be more to come.Â Â Yesterday, Santander launched its lowest ever two-year fixed-rate mortgage, available for a 'limited time only'.Â Open only to people looking to remortgage, it offers a 1.84 per cent rate for people with per cent equity and comes with a Â£995 fee. Barclays has also made cuts this week, with its new deals including a five-year fixed-rate remortgage loan at 2.79 per cent for people with a 30 per cent deposit, with a Â£999 application fee. Skipton Building Society also has a 2.56 per cent five-year fix for borrowers with a 40 per cent deposit. It comes with a Â£995 fee.Â As the end of the year approaches, banks and building societies will be aiming to meet their lending targets, therefore it won't be surprising if we see more of these low rates hit the marketÂ Rachel Springall, for financial information website Moneyfacts There have been suggestions that lenders are offering deals to retain customers who are currently sitting on a standard variable rate (SVR mortgage).Â There are concerns that some may decide to jump to another deal when the Bank of England base rate starts to climb. The rise is expected at some point towards the latter half of 2015.Â Â Meanwhile, there is also evidence that lenders are now playing catch-up in order to meet end-of-year lending targets. Stricter mortgage lending rules came into force in April and this caused some disruption to the market as lenders adjusted to how they should interpret the changes. A recent Bank of England report showed that mortgage availability shrank back over the summer, just after the new rules were introduced. Despite signs that lenders are gaining a stronger appetite to offer home loans, concerns have also been raised in recent days that some groups of people, such as those aged over 40, are now having a tougher struggle trying to get a mortgage deal. Rachel Springall, spokeswoman for financial information website Moneyfacts, said that while HSBC's new 2.4 per cent deal is likely to cause a stir in the long-term fixed deal market. Difficult climate: Concerns have also been raised in recent days that some groups of people, such as those aged over 40, are now having a tougher struggle trying to get a mortgage deal Ms Springall said: 'Customers sitting on an SVR or are even coming to the end of their current deal will be looking at the best rates out there, so by offering a headline rate this deal is bound to attract custom.Â Â The fact that this deal is a five-year fixed will furthermore boost its appeal to borrowers who want to lock into a low rate for the longer-term. 'As the end of the year approaches, banks and building societies will be aiming to meet their lending targets, therefore it won't be surprising if we see more of these low rates hit the market.' But she warned that borrowers needed to work out the true cost of a mortgage before signing on.Â Ms Springall added: 'A good all-round mortgage would ideally have a decent rate, low fee and an incentive package, but as these deals may not bathe in the same limelight as a market-low rate, it's wise for borrowers to seek out independent financial advice to find the right deal for them.'