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The Abbey Remortgage Index showed that demand for longer term mortgages has risen significantly since the start of the year, with five year fixed rate products being the most popular.

Twenty-seven per cent of homeowners told Abbey they would opt for a five-year fix if they were to remortgage tomorrow, followed by the 11 per cent who would opt for a three year deal.

However, since April there has been a 3 per cent drop in the number of people who would opt for two year fixed rate mortgages, leaving the product favoured by just 7 per cent of borrowers.

In comparison, Abbey's 10 year fixed rate products have increased in popularity by 2 per cent to be favoured by 5 per cent of borrowers. The 15 year fix is also up 4 per cent, from 2 per cent two months ago.

The report also highlighted that while the percentage of people who would opt for tracker or flexible deals was still around 10 per cent, the interest in two year tracker products had doubled in the last two months.

Phil Cliff, director of Abbey Mortgages, said: "The credit crunch seems to have instilled a longer-term vision among homeowners who want to make sure they are well and truly out of the 'crunch' period when they remortgage again."

Abbey's new 10 year fixed rate mortgage will be available from Friday (4 July) at 6.24 per cent. A £999 application fee applies, for loans up to 75 per cent loan-to-value (LTV).