The mortgage price war has stepped up a gear as lenders announced a flurry of new rate cuts to home loans.

Britain's biggest mortgage lender Halifax has chopped its five-year fixed rates by up to 0.31%, as has its sister bank Lloyds. Leeds Building Society announced reductions of up to 0.4% in its buy-to-let mortgage range.

The moves are the latest in a wave of sharpened-up prices announced in recent days as lenders including Metro Bank, Barclays, Nationwide Building Society, HSBC, Virgin Money, Skipton Building Society and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society jostle for business.

The latest rate reductions from Halifax come a week after its last round of rate cuts. Among Halifax's new deals is a five-year mortgage for borrowers with a 20%-25% deposit with a rate of 3.98%. The loan comes with a £995 fee. A similar deal is being offered by Lloyds.

Rachel Springall, spokeswoman for financial information website Moneyfacts, said: "Only a week since making its last rate reductions, Halifax has further improved its two and five-year fixed deals by reducing selected rates by up to 0.31%.

"Borrowers who have a 20% deposit and who are interested in these offerings would still be wise to shop around for deals elsewhere.

"In this competitive market lower rates can be found with lower fees as well as incentive packages to help with upfront costs, so they really do need to weigh up the deals based on true cost."

Among the deals on Moneyfacts' "best buy" tables is a five-year fix at 3.79% from Norwich and Peterborough for people with a 15% deposit, with a £195 fee.

Tesco Bank is offering a best buy five-year fix at 3.39% with a £195 fee, for borrowers with a 25% deposit.

Craig McKinlay, mortgages director at Halifax, said the lender is working hard to make sure its range is "as competitive as possible".

Lloyds is also understood to have been motivated to make the changes to maintain its competitive position.

Earlier this week, Virgin Money took the unusual step of launching a six-year fixed-rate mortgage as an alternative to the common five-year deal, enabling borrowers to protect themselves for an extra year against interest rate rises.

Virgin's six-year fixed rate deals, which are available at the same price as its five-year fixes, include a product available for people with a 30% deposit with a rate of 2.99% and a fee of £995. Alternatively, people can opt to go fee-free and pay a higher rate of 3.59%.

The moves come despite continued speculation over when the Bank of England base rate is likely to push up from its historic 0.5% low, increasing the cost of borrowing.

Experts have put the slew of cuts down to falls in swap rates, which lenders use to price their loans, as well as some lenders wanting to attract new business to meet end-of-year targets.

They have also said lenders are rolling up their sleeves to do business after getting used to stricter mortgage lending rules, which came into force in April and force lenders to ask people applying for a home loan more probing questions about their spending habits, to make sure the loan is truly affordable.