Mortgage repayments in the first three months of this year totalled a record £8.14bn, according to the Bank of England.

Repayments for the year to the end of March came to £76bn.

Additional borrowing on the basis of rising property values now seems to be a thing of the past.

Falling house prices and the economic downturn have put people off taking money out of their property, leading to equity withdrawal being negative for the fourth quarter in a row.

From 2000 until early 2008, homeowners borrowed more than £300bn extra against the rising value of their houses.

But Professor David Miles, mortgage market expert and new member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, says he believes the worst is over as far as falling house prices are concerned.

He told the Treasury Select Committee that "expectations are crucial in the housing market, and they look a bit better now than a few months ago.

"My hunch - and I put it no stronger than that - is that we have seen most of the overall aggregate house price falls."

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