According to the financial information service Moneyfacts, the average cost of a two-year fixed-rate loan, for someone with a 25% deposit, is currently 4.28%.

BBC: More fixed-rate mortgages go up

There are now 80 different mortgages available for those offering a 5% deposit, including just 56 fixed-rate deals, down from 1, 079 in July last year.

BBC: The property market home truths

"Borrowers now need a 25% deposit to access virtually all its fixed and tracker products, " said Aaron Strutt of mortgage brokers Chase de Vere.

BBC: Mortgage lending slumps says Bank

However, customers who need to borrow less than 75% by putting down a bigger deposit are being offered cheaper deals on tracker and fixed-rate mortgages.

BBC: Small rebound in mortgage lending

Ye Linfeng, a researcher with Cnbenefit, said that China's smaller banks, which typically started issuing wealth-management products later than the major banks, are trying to bolster their fee income out of concern that the central bank's efforts to liberalize interest rates will increasingly eat into the fixed margin between deposit and lending rates they have traditionally relied on to turn a profit.

WSJ: China Tightens Regulations on Wealth Management