In his pre-budget report, the Chancellor Alistair Darling, announced that he wanted to increase the availability of a longer fixed rate term on mortgages. He reckons this is one of the ways of making home buying a more affordable process and create stability for those with homeowner loans.

A mortgage with a fixed rate of interest over say 10 years, which is what Darling is proposing, is a great way to provide a bit of stability in these unsettling times within the mortgage market. It also means that homeowners will know exactly what they are paying month to month over the set term. This makes it easier to plan, budget and save as you will have no nasty surprises from year to year.

Some homeowners have really struggled the past year or so, after having such a low base interest rate, many applied for mortgages beyond their means and were given them. As the Bank Of England increased the rate 5 times over 12 months, the rise in homeowner repayments tipped some people over the edge. Repossesions were going up and many people were borrowing more just to keep up with repayments.

I welcome this bit of news about introducing long term fixed rates, however at present you will find over 140 of these products already on offer in the UK. It isn't that they aren't available to us, it's just that we don't seem to want them. They only account for about 3% of all our mortgages. Why is it that we seem to prefer short-term offers for 2 years when it is clear, these are not the most effective option for many of us.

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