LONDON (Reuters) — The number of no-deposit mortgages has doubled in a year, as lenders react to Britain's property affordability crisis, a report shows.Only 60 100-percent-plus fixed-rate mortgages were available in May last year — from 17 lenders — since when a further 10 lenders have entered the market, boosting the number of products to 127, according to price comparison service MoneyExpert.com.

"Affordability is the buzz word at the moment as lenders look to find new ways to bring first-time buyers into the property market," said the firm's chief executive Sean Gardner.

"Offering 100-percent mortgages is another example of this, as saving for a deposit on even the average property can take years."

Many first-time buyers have been priced out of the market amid rocketing house prices and rising interest rates.

The Bank of England hiked the base rate for the fourth time in 10 months in May, taking the cost of borrowing to a six-year high of 5.5 percent.

Gardner said a poll of 2,291 people commissioned by MoneyExpert.com suggested that around 2,500 mortgage applications are being turned down every day, as interest rate rises hit home.

"Often it's the youngest applicants who are worst affected by high interest rates as getting onto the property ladder becomes more difficult," he added.

The average rate payable on a 100-percent-plus mortgage has increased to 6.49 percent from 5.89 a year ago.

Average fixed rates on mortgages available to those with a 25-percent deposit or more are lower at 5.83 percent, with some rates of five percent or below still on the market.

Although data from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors shows that house price growth eased in May to its lowest in more than a year, the average price in Britain now stands at almost $210,000, according to the Department for Communities and Local Government.

First-time buyer web-site Firstrung.co.uk says it has seen an "alarming" drop in mortgage applications below $100,000 pounds — and a growing trend in applications for houseboats and mobile homes on permanent caravan parks.

"In the applications processed this month, we estimate only one percent was for mortgages of less than $100,000," operations director Paul Holmes said yesterday.

"To witness applications for mortgages on permanent mobile homes is simply a sad indictment of the overall paucity of first-time buyer opportunities that currently exist."