Mortgage Brain has reported a rise in the number of mortgage products on its sourcing system for the fifth month in a row.

A 13% increase in product availability was seen during April to bring the total number of live mortgage products listed on its sourcing system to 11,748, its highest since September 2008.

Fixed rate products witnessed the biggest increase with 1,026 new products (16%) being introduced during the past month. Fixed rates are the most dominant and popular product type with current figures representing 7,576 of all available products.

Trackers saw a 6% increase in product availability (167 new products) during April. Current figures now stand at 2,924, up from 2,757 in the previous month.

Variable rate products increased by 12% (137 new products) during the past month and now represent 1,248 of all available products. Despite being the least popular product type, the 12 month analysis continues to show the best long-term performance with a 205% increase in product availability compared to the start May 2010.

Mark Lofthouse, CEO of Mortgage Brain, said: “The data from this month’s analysis is particularly encouraging and continues to show positive movement for the UK intermediary mortgage market.