Eight out of 10 lenders are now offering maximum mortgage terms in excess of 25 years, while a quarter of lenders now provide 40-year mortgage terms, a moneyfacts survey reveals.

The survey also reveals a handful of lender currently offer the maximum possible term of 52 years.

Julia Harris, analyst at moneyfacts, said: "For many years the standard term considered for a mortgage in the UK was 25 years, but as affordability becomes increasingly difficult for many of today’s first-time buyers, a 25-year term is perhaps no longer considered sufficient.

"As house price rises show no signs of abating, today’s buyers face two major obstacles. First, being able to borrow the amount needed to purchase the property and second, being able to afford the monthly repayments.

"Most lenders have adopted one relatively simple way to make the repayments more affordable, by extending the maximum term of the loan - to anything up to 52 years. By spreading the mortgage over a longer period of time, monthly repayments can be reduced to a more affordable level.

"Extending the term of your mortgage will undoubtedly lower your monthly repayments and can be a useful means of initially affording the mortgage until your salary increases, but the longer you stay on a long term mortgage, the more you will see your interest costs spiral.

"Based on a 25-year repayment mortgage of £130K at 5.25%, extending the term by just five years will increase the total amount payable by almost £25K, while increasing to 40 years adds a whopping £77.5K interest to your bill."

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