Are mortgages getting more expensive?

Across the mortgage market there are signs that home loans are slowly becoming more expensive - which is adding pressure to household budgets.

Over the past month six banks have announced increases in their standard variable rates - the Halifax, Cooperative, Bank of Ireland, Clydesdale and Yorkshire bank.

There are 850,000 borrowers on the Halifax SVR and it is rate is going up by 0.5% to 3.99% - adding £55 a month to a mortgage of £200,000.

Ray Boulger is a senior technical manager at the broker John Charcol. He told the BBC, "Demand is increasing, supply is not - so hence prices go up".