Research by Halifax revealed that housing costs, including mortgage payments, council tax, utility bills and maintenance and repair work, have dropped 9% in real terms and are now equivalent to 27% of gross average full-time earnings compared to 30% in 2008.

Halifax said that this fall has been driven by the 19% drop in mortgage payments (interest and capital repayments), with the average mortgage rate paid by borrowers falling by 2.13% between April 2008 and April 2010.

Suren Thiru, housing economist at Halifax, said: “The cost associated with owning and running a home has fallen, entirely as a consequence of reduced mortgage payments. This has helped to ease the strain on household’s finances, providing some relief to homeowners during the economic downturn.”

Michael White, managing director of Email Mortgages, commented: “Affordability is likely to continue to increase, as lenders are beginning to cut rates on higher LTVs where margins are still high, and Bank rate isn’t likely to increase in the medium term. But borrowers still have to jump the lender’s underwriting obstacle to get the mortgage.”