Affording a mortgage is at its easiest level for more than 14 years, the Halifax has claimed.

New research conducted by the bank has found that the average monthly repayment made by a first time buyer is now at its lowest level since 1997.

The average payment now accounts for 27 per cent of a first purchaser’s monthly income compared with a peak of 47 per cent in October 2007 and has not been lower since the days when the likes of the Spice Girls and Oasis ruled the charts.

However, there is still a great north/south divide. On average Londoners spend 35 per cent of their income on mortgage repayments while in Yorkshire and the north-west the figures stand at 21 per cent and 23 per cent respectively.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: "The falls in house prices and cuts in mortgage rates in the last few years have resulted in a significant improvement in housing affordability for those able to raise the necessary deposit to enter the market.

“Mortgage payments for a typical new borrower are now at their lowest in proportion to earnings since 1997.”

A recent study by Barclays found that its average customer pays out 15.4 per cent of their income towards servicing their mortgage.