Woolwich, Barclays' mortgage lending arm, today signalled that borrowing rates are finally on their way down as it shaved as much as 0.32 percentage points off some home loan deals.

The move is the second cut in two weeks by Woolwich and follows similar decreases to both fixed and tracker rate home loans by other big lenders including Nationwide, Halifax and Cheltenham & Gloucester.

The reduction in rates will be welcomed by homeowners who are due to remortgage after months of rising borrowing costs implemented by mortgage providers who have been keen to pass on the higher cost of lending between banks.

The biggest cuts were reserved for the longest term mortgage deals.

Woolwich will reduce the rate on its 10-year fixed-rate mortgage by 0.32 to 5.94 per cent, while a three-year deal will fall by 0.2 per cent and a five-year mortgage 0.1 per cent.

Halifax, the UK's biggest lender, reduced rates by an average of 0.15 percentage points on Friday.

The rate on its two-year fixed-rate deal for borrowers with a 25 per cent deposit or equity stake in their property is now 6.47 per cent, down from 6.99 per cent last week.

Jonathan Cornell at Hamptons International Mortgages, said: "The end is not nigh. There are still deals on offer and with news that lenders have cut their mortgage rates, those looking to re-mortgage can, for now, breathe a sigh of relief."

However, experts gave warning that although it looks like rates have now passed their peak, the lending criteria used by banks is likely to remain strict, continuing to squeeze first-time buyers out of the market and penalise any borrower who does not own at least 25 per cent of the equity in their property.

Ray Boulger at John Charcol, the mortgage broker, said: “I think it is a sign that we have passed the worst in terms of interest rates, but we are not seeing any significant criteria changes. We do seem to have got to the stage where lenders have tightened criteria and put rates up enough to choke off demand."