Britons pay record amounts off their mortgages

Homeowners pumped a record £9.1bn into reducing the debt on their properties in the second quarter of the year, the Bank of England revealed yesterday.

It was the highest figure since comparable records began in 1970 and means the total amount owed on mortgages has fallen by £92.9bn since the height of the credit crunch.

Homeowners spent the equivalent of 3.5 per cent of their take-home pay on their mortgages during the three months to the end of September, the Bank said. The figure is a stark contrast to five years ago when property prices seemed to be on a permanent upward slant – and borrowing consistently totalled more than repayments.