A fifth of all first-time buyers are taking mortgages of 35 years or longer – as costs rise.

These buyers – who are older than the used to be – have to extend the length of deals in order to be able to make the repayments.

But it means that they will accrue thousands of pounds more debt on the interest over the length of the mortgage.

It also means that they will still be paying it off when traditionally they ought to have retired. Many will be in their 70s.

In 2005 just two per cent of first-time buyers opted for mortgages of 35 years or more. In 2021 the figure was nine per cent and in March this year the number had jumped to 19 per cent.

The Bank of England has put up interest rates to 4.5 per cent – up from 0.1 per cent just a few short years ago.

The figures form part of a report due to be published by industry body UK Finance this week.

In it, it states: “In order to lower monthly payments and thereby improve their affordability calculations, we have seen customers increasingly take out mortgages over longer terms, an option still permitted by most lenders and within the FCA’s [Financial Conduct Authority’s] responsible lending rules.

“While this has been a long-term trend seen since 2010, the growth in borrowing over a longer term accelerated rapidly through 2022.”

Mike Bradley, a senior broker at Home Owners Advice, said: “These figures are not a surprise.

“We have noticed this trend and it will continue as long as rates continue to rise.

“The price of property is also very high and getting on the ladder is terrifically difficult.

“Buyers have to do all they can to get a mortgage and one way of making it more affordable is taking a longer time to repay it.

“This is OK as long as property prices don’t slump. But with a dearth of property this doesn’t seem likely in the short term.

“Lenders are also now pulling some of the longer fixed rate deals, worried that they won’t be able to profit from them with rates still rising.

“Lenders have to be careful and the 2008 banking crisis still looms large in the industry.

“But that doesn’t help home-owners who want the security of a long-term fixed deal.

“Ideally we will see inflation coming down rapidly and thereby reducing the pressure on the Bank of England to put up rates.”