Halifax cuts mortgage rates again

The UK's largest mortgage lender has announced further reductions to some of its home loans deals.Effective immediately, Halifax's cuts affect both fixed and tracker rates - and forms the third set of reductions in a month.Three and five year fixes, along with two-year trackers, have come down by up 0.18 per cent.Commenting on the move, a spokesman for Halifax indicated that the firm was following the example of lenders such as Nationwide and HSBC, both of whom have recently cut rates."We are just pricing in line with the market," he said.The cuts signify new confidence in the housing market, with firms making active efforts to attract new business.Further good news for the sector also comes today from the National Housing Federation, which is predicting a 25 per cent rise in house prices over the next few years.According to the firm, the market will turn the corner in 2010, before the average property price rises by 5.2 per cent in 2010, 9.2 per cent in 2012 and 9.3 per cent in 2013.