Countrywide fixed-rate mortgages remain popular

Mr Turner said: "We may also be seeing a return of home movers entering the market, as larger deposits typically come from home movers using the equity from their property to fund their move."

He also suggested that the next general election will unsettle the housing market at the very time that home movers are looking for security in a fixed-rate mortgage, in light of a 34 per cent rise in the total number of mortgage applications.

The company found it had a high volume of mortgage applications for two-year periods in February, which is a 23 per cent increase on the previous year.

According to Moneyfacts, there were 1,798 mortgage products on the market at the beginning of March, which is an increase of 68 per cent in more than one year.