Homeowners are turning to long-term mortgage loans and tracker deals in the wake of the increasing expense of two-year fixed-rate deals, experts have said.

The combination of rising interest rates and tighter lending criteria mean that deals are much less generous than in recent years, reports the Times.

Two years ago, it cost around £400 to set up a two-year fixed-rate deal and now prospective buyers can expect an arrangement fee of up to £1,000.

Meanwhile mortgage lenders, themselves having to pay higher levels of interest as a result of the credit crunch, have passed on those rate rises to consumers to safeguard their profit margins.

David Hollingworth, of mortgage broker London & Country, told the newspaper: "Longer-term mortgages are potentially a viable solution, and we could see the popularity of two-year fixes wane."

Jonathan Cornell, managing director of Hamptons Mortgages, added: "For the foreseeable future, the base rate is only going one way, and that''s down.

"All deals look very expensive at the moment compared to the past five years."

A third of mortgage deals struck in January were trackers, the highest figure since the Council of Mortgage Lenders started to record tracker data in 2005.