Halifax, one of Britain’s biggest mortgage lenders, has cut its mortgage rates for the second time this week.

The bank has cut its cheapest two-year tracker rate deal down from 5.69 to 5.59 per cent, shaving £9 a month off the cost of a £150,000 loan.

The cost of a two-year fixed rate has fallen by a bigger 0.35 per cent margin, from 6.19 to 5.84 per cent.

The latest cuts are further confirmation that the mortgage market is becoming less hostile for borrowers, provided they have a deposit or equity stake worth at least 25 per cent of the property value, the minimum for both of Halifax's cheapest deals.

Several lenders, including Abbey, Northern Rock and Yorkshire Building Society have cut the cost of their fixed rate deals this week, bringing relief to borrowers looking for the security of fixed monthly repayments.

However, tracker mortgages – which track the changes in the Bank of England base rate, currently 5 per cent – are also looking increasingly attractive, say experts.

Drew Wotherspoon of Charcol.co.uk, the broker, said: “Trackers are currently priced at around 0.3 per cent better than their fixed rate counterparts, so borrowers will immediately pay less over a fixed rate.

“Yet with at least one per cent predicted to disappear from the base rate, this gap could widen significantly over the coming months.”

For borrowers wanting to remortgage, competitive trackers currently include Abbey’s two year at 5.54 per cent with a £1,999 fee and Woolwich's lifetime tracker at 0.69 per cent above base rate, up to a maximum value of 60 per cent.

Mr Wotherspoon also said that some lenders, including Nationwide, Lloyds and Cheltenham & Gloucester, allow borrowers on a tracker rate to have a “drop-lock option”, which means they can drop out of the tracker and lock into their lender’s fixed rate at any time.

David Hollingworth at London & Country, another broker, said the choice of a tracker or fixed rate depends on your attitude to risk. “Experts are divided on how the base rate will go over coming months – it could drop, but equally with inflation being so high it could be raised.

“Forecasts seem to be changing on a monthly basis and with all the uncertainty still surrounding the economy and mortgage market in particular, many borrowers will be looking for the security of a fixed-rate.”

On Wednesday Newcastle Building Society cut its two-year fixed to 5.65 and its five-year fixed to 5.6 per cent, both with a £1,098 fee and a 75 per cent loan-to-value (LTV). Nationwide’s two-year fixed rate is currently at 5.98 per cent with a £599 fee and maximum 75 per cent LTV.

Mr Wotherspoon added: “After a difficult few months, the mortgage market is definitely becoming more competitive. We expect lenders to continue reducing rates and offering more products in the coming months."