Britons are confused about which mortgages they should be looking at when it comes to taking out a new loan or when they decide to remortgage.

That is according to Abbey, which has revealed that the majority of borrowers are unsure whether it is best to take out a fixed-rate or tracker-rate mortgage.

It is because most analysts are also unsure which option is best, with confusion centring on how the Bank of England intends to change the base rate of interest in the coming year.

Most agree that the next movement will be downwards but there is little idea how far rates will drop and for how long.

“Depending on who you talk to there are different outlooks for the UK economy and for Bank of England base rates. While most economists agree they will go down, there is debate about how much they will fall and when,” commented head of Abbey mortgages Nici Audhlam-Gardiner.

“This uncertainty leaves homeowners with a bit of a dilemma on their hands – what is the best mortgage to go for?

“Our research shows that most popular still is the two-year fixed-rate deal, but this is followed closely by five-year fixes,” she continued.

The base rate of interest currently stands at 5.25 per cent