It comes at a time when consumer appetite for long-term fixed rates is increasing, according to research from Abbey.
Although the two-year fixed rate has long been a favorite with first-time buyers, Nici Audhlam Gardiner, Abbey head of mortgages, said that people are willing to fix for longer: “Nearly 40% of homeowners surveyed recently said that they would fix for five years or longer if they were remortgaging tomorrow – that’s nearly the same as those who would opt for a two-year fix, previously the more popular product.”

Richard Farr, director of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries, said that historically, demand for long-term deals has been minimal: “In our experience, there is little demand for these types of long-term fixed rate mortgages. A number of providers already offer 10 and 25-year fixed rate deals and to date, they haven’t proved very popular.”