Homeowners are paying off their mortgages younger and faster with the average age of an outright homeowner now standing at 48, according to a study by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

People are taking advantage of increasingly flexible mortgages and the average repayment term is now 21 years, with nearly one in three of the nation’s homes owned outright.

“These figures show that people like to be free of debt, especially in the form of a mortgage,” said mortgage broker John Cornell. “According to this study people with no mortgage are twice as likely to feel confident about the future than those who still owe money on their property. I reckon that is about right.”