Halifax is the largest lender in Britain and on April 7, 2008 they will raise their rates by approximately 0.35%. In addition, they will make demands that homebuyers put down large deposits or pay higher rates. This is just the latest squeeze borrowers have to face in the credit crunch that has been plaguing the UK.

Halifax increasing their rate comes at a time that has seen one of the most tumultuous weeks in the UK mortgage market in more than ten years. Many economists believe that this makes the April base rate cut by the Bank of England an almost certainty.

What borrowers are finding is that what was once considered expensive variable rate mortgages are now the cheapest deals. There are also many cases in which they are the only option when they reach the end of their fixed-rate deals. On April 4, Skipton Building Society made the decision to impose a £799 fee on their standard variable rate for new borrowers after the demand was overwhelming.

As for Halifax, they will only be offering the best mortgages to customers who have at least 25% to put down as a deposit.

Halifax is also withdrawing some of its new build deals that were priced rather low. They have deals with such developers as Barratt Homes.

But the minimum deposit that once held at 3% will increase to 5% because the average price of a home is around £185,616. This means that the minimum deposit for a home will increase to £9,280, which is up from £5,568.