Two major mortgage lenders have become the first to increase their rates on the Help to Buy schemes that they offer.

Santander has raised the rates they will offer on their two year fixed rate 95% loan to value mortgage, raising it 0.1% to 5.09% APR.

Their two year fixed rate 85% LTV mortgage and their 90% LTV mortgage will also rise 0.1% and 0.5% respectively.

A spokesman for Santander explained: “Santander regularly reviews its mortgage range to ensure competitive positioning in the market. In line with market conditions, we have re-priced a selection of two and five year products.”

NatWest are also raising their mortgage rates, by between 0.1% and 0.4%.

Potential buyers are therefore now urged to shop around and find the best deals to suit them. However, APR isn’t everything, and Santander’s deals may have factors that could make it right for you. For example, Santander has no set-up-fees on some deals.

Although this is just a relatively minor boost in prices, Santander and NatWest could potentially have led the way for other banks and lenders to do the same.