Homeowners in England and Wales spent 20% less of their take-home pay on monthly mortgage repayments in 2009, according to research from Woolwich, the mortgage arm of Barclays Bank.

In December 2008, homeowners across England and Wales were spending an average £196 of every £1,000 of their post-tax monthly salaries on their mortgages.

But fast forward 12 months and this figure had plunged to £157 in £1,000, meaning a total saving of £110 a month for a typical British household.

Why have mortgage payments fallen so much?

The main reason that so many Britons are now paying significantly less for their mortgage than they did in 2008 is the massive drop in the level of the Bank of England base rate, on which variable mortgage rates are based.

The base rate began 2008 at 5.50%, but as the economic crisis took hold the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee, which sets the base rate, instigated a raft of cuts, beginning with a 0.25 percentage point fall in February 2008.

By December of that year the base rate was 2.00%, and further cuts in the first three months of 2009 took it down to its current level of just 0.50%.

Homeowners on variable-rate mortgages have therefore seen their monthly mortgage payments fall accordingly.

Andy Gray, head of mortgages at Barclays said: "For the 11 million UK households who have a mortgage there is a silver lining to the recession - a substantial reduction in mortgage payments right when they need it most.

"For them it's a chance to save in a way they might not have been able to before, or to overpay their mortgage and cut years from its life."

Despite the credit crunch, many of those coming to the end of a mortgage deal have also been able to renegotiate a home loan with a lower interest rate, bringing their mortgage costs down by hundreds of pounds in some cases.

How much have mortgage payments actually come down?

The average monthly mortgage payment made by British homeowners now stands at £497, compared to £607 in December 2008, the Woolwich research shows.

Regionally, the largest fall was in London where the proportion of pay spent on mortgage repayments has decreased by 23%, although a typical London homeowner has to put £189 of every £1,000 he or she takes home each month towards mortgage payments.

Homeowners in the North East have not benefited as much, however. There, the typical mortgage payment has fallen by just 15.5%.

Those on fixed-rate mortgage deals have lost out even more, though, as their repayments have stayed the same throughout - which perhaps explains why fixed-rate deals are so unpopular with re-mortgagers and first-time buyers now.