The race for cheap mortgages for first-time buyers is on but will these low-cost loans finally help you buy your first home?

The starting pistol has been fired on a race for cheap mortgages for first-time buyers and movers.

The Government launched the latest phase of its Help to Buy scheme, which guarantees loans for buyers with small deposits.

Ministers hope it will get the whole of the UK housing market moving again - not just London and hotspots across  the South-East.

For those with small deposits equivalent to 5?per cent of their property's asking price, the early signs are encouraging.

State-backed RBS and NatWest are offering a 4.99?per cent two-year fixed deal or 5.49?per cent over five years, both without a fee.

In the case of the two-year fix, this is nearly a whole percentage point cheaper than the nearest rival deal available  on the open market at Newcastle  Building Society.

For hard-pressed buyers, this adds up to a monthly saving of ?86 on a typical ?150,000 home loan and ?2,259 over  two years. dailymail