The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has launched an online mortgage comparison service, allowing consumers to sift through nearly 1300 mortgages to find the best deal.
Users will be able to log on and compare information from more than 100 mortgage providers, including interest rates, fees and incentives, restrictions such as early repayment charges, flexibility and whether the mortgage can be linked to a current account.
Beverley Brewster of the FSA's comparative tables team, comments: "Unlike other Web sites, these tables are not trying to sell you a mortgage. They're intended to help you shop around and make a shortlist of the best value deals."
Mortgages are the latest products to be tabulated by the UK watchdog. Other products ranked online include unit trust & OEIC ISAs, personal and stakeholder pensions, investment bonds, and savings endowments.
The regulator believes the addition of mass-market mortgage products will help lift visitor numbers to the site, which currently averages a bare 2000 users per week.
The FSA says it will continue to add to the range of products compared online, despite low initial uptake by UK consumers. The watchdog says annuities tables are planned for spring 2003.