Bankers are trying to give house builders a boost by offering fee-free mortgages which will enable them to cut £1,000 off the price of a new home.

The initiative has been launched by Yorkshire Bank’s West Yorkshire Financial Solutions Centre on Canal Road.

Yorkshire Bank has waived the arrangement fee on its two and five-year fixed-rate and offset mortgages for all its residential developer customers.

Andy Davidson, West Yorkshire FSC managing partner, says the offer will support the housing market by providing benefits for developers and buyers. He said “By waiving fees, we aim to support and help stimulate activity for new homes and respond to the needs of our property businesses and retail customers.

“House-hunters seeking a newly-built property from a developer participating in our initiative will gain a considerable saving on their arrangement fees.”

Tim Schofield, director of Evo Homes whose £1.85m Stanhall Mews development of 12 quarter houses at Bradford Road, Pudsey, is helped by the Yorkshire Bank scheme, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for new home buyers to save nearly £1,000 on their mortgage fees and is a welcome boost to us and the local housing market.”

Depending on the property being purchased, the loan-to-value criteria for the two-year and five-year fixed rate mortgages and offset mortgages will be 70 per cent for new apartments and 80 per cent for houses.

The offer comes after Yorkshire Bank announced continued support for both retail and business customers including a new £100m invoice finance fund for small business loans.