Low interest rates have allowed mortgage lenders to offer some of the best ever deals.
Monthly repayments have fallen to just £494 a month for the average homeowner.
However potential buyers this year will face a more difficult time meeting the lending criteria.
Mortgage payments in England and Wales shrunk to 15.4 per cent of home owners’ take-home pay in 2011.
Making it the best time to find a cheap mortgage in nearly ten years, according to research from Barclays Capital.
This is the lowest the figure has stood at since the records began in 2001, falling from its height in 2008.
The research also suggested that homeowners would be able to afford the Bank of England increasing the base rate from the very low 0.5 per cent.
At the beginning of the month the Bank of England forecast an increase in lenders mortgage ranges, but did state that this would be counter balanced by stricter lending rules.
A survey has found that many banks are contemplating more innovative deals for those with small deposits especially first-time buyers.
