The credit crunch and squeeze on lending is affecting the options for mortgage buyers. Before the worries about an economic down-turn, the major mortgage providers had plenty of cash to play with and lots of competitive offers for the consumer.

Now, the luxury of choice has disappeared. Last year, consumers could scour the market for the best deal out of 15,000 available mortgage products. This number has now reduced to a comparatively meagre 4,000 according to Moneyfacts. The flexibility and scope for finding the most suitable offer have diminished.

As well as the number of products decreasing, traditional high street lenders are now dramatically reducing the size of mortgages they're willing to give out. Consumers looking to secure over £1m mortgages are finding that the main-stream lenders are reigning in their maximum loan sizes and increasing their fees. HFM Columbus states that Halifax can now charge a fee of up to £40,000 to consumers looking for a £2m mortgage. Moving away from the traditional lenders is often the only option, though fees will still be sizable.

The lack of mortgage product choice is yet another problem facing the homeowner or first time buyer. Getting the credit in the first place is one obstacle, but then throw in the lack of product choice and apprehension from lenders and it would seem that tough times are set to continue.