The number of mortgage products available to intermediaries has stayed at a three year high for the second month running, according to Mortgage Brain’s Monthly Product Analysis.

However, for the first time in 11 months the total number of live mortgage schemes listed on its mortgage sourcing system fell slightly – by 1% – last month.

As of 31 October there were 14,203 products compared to 14,361, which were listed at the start of the month.

The latest data, which represents a 42 month high, shows an 86% uplift in overall product availability compared to this time last year, and a 21% increase compared to six months ago.

Trackers fell for the second month in a row, down 5% from 3,613 on 3 October, to 3,431 as of 31 October.

Despite a fall in number of 0.1%, fixed rate products remain as the most popular product type, representing 8,517 of all available mortgage products.

Variable rate products performed the best during October, increasing for the second month in a row – up 1% from 2,224 on 3rd October – and now account for 2,255 of all available products.

The latest analysis shows that products with an 80% or less LTV have increased by 31% over the past six months and now represent 1,807 of all available products – up from 1,379 in May 2011.

Mark Lofthouse, CEO of Mortgage Brain, said: “Our latest data shows again that the UK mortgage market continues to fluctuate