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Borrowers are finding fixed-rate mortgages more popular then in previous months, according to an industry expert.

The shift in trend is spurred by the decrease in costs of these mortgage products, according to John Charcol.

Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at the firm, pointed out that lenders recently increasing the prices of their tracker-based mortgages, were adding to the further appeal of fixed-rate mortgages.

He added: "Although I think trackers generally still offer better value, you can certainly make out a much better case for buying a fixed-rate now because the gap between trackers and fixed-rates has narrowed and fixed-rates are looking better value – particularly five-year fixed-rates or longer term fixed-rates generally."

Recent data made public by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show that fixed-rate products accounted for 48 per cent of the total mortgages approved in the month of June this year.

Owing to the Bank of England basic rate being fixed at the historically low level of 0.5 per cent, fixed-rate mortgages had proved to be unpopular with customers earlier on in this year. However, a subsequent fall in prices has led borrowers to re-consider these deals, according to CML.

The council also reported a rise in the amount of money lent towards house purchases in June 2010. The number of loans sanctioned rose by 19 per cent to 52,000 in the month, reflecting a total lending of £7.6 billion, in comparison to the figures recorded in May this year. June is the 12th consecutive month to see a year-on-year increase in lending levels.

Remortgaging also improved slightly in the same time period. June witnessed a rise in remortgage loans to 27,000 worth £3.4 billion, in contrast to 26,000 sanctioned in May. However, the figure was considerably lower than that recorded in June 2009 when 34,000 loans, worth £4.2 billion, were sanctioned.