And the findings - from the Bank of England - have sparked fears of rising repossessions among over-stretched local home-owners and first-time buyers with 100% mortgages who bought during the province's property boom.

The Bank's figures show the average home-owner could pay up to £135 more a month for their mortgage (based on borrowing of £200,000) than last year as the effects of the credit crunch start to bite.

And official data from the Bank has revealed rising rates of interest on both mortgage repayments and credit cards last year, during a period when the base rate was unchanged.

Northern Ireland home-owners welcomed the Bank of England's decision in December to cut the base rate by a quarter of a per cent, with industry experts predicting more to come.

But the news that borrowing has hit a three-year low following months of falling mortgage approvals has sparked fears of more homes being repossessed.

Last year the average house price in Northern Ireland rose to around £240,000, but with many first-time buyers opting for 100% mortgages, crippling interest rates could mean some people will struggle to meet monthly mortgage repayments.

The Bank of England's findings show there has been little relief for home-owners and consumers to date with some lenders imposing higher interest rates regardless of the Bank's lead last year in a bid to cover losses from the credit crunch.

Now mortgage misery is at a seven-year high and could be set to continue if lenders' interest rates do not reflect the Bank of England base rate.

Around 18 of the UK's 103 lenders have so far failed to pass on the cut, while 16 others have reduced rates by just under 0.25%. Savers will lose out too with several large banks and building societies reducing rates of interest paid on accounts.

Ironically, crisis-hit Northern Rock, which was at the centre of the credit crunch, has reduced its mortgage rates while retaining interest rates for savers in a bid to reward its customers.

There are fears, however, that spiralling mortgage payments will lead to a wave of repossessions, and the pressure is mounting on the Bank of England to cut rates again on Thursday.

But even this move may have few, if any, benefits for some, according to industry experts who have claimed not all lenders pass on interest rate drops to their borrowers.

The average rate climbed to 6.02% last November compared to 5.94% in September, despite the base rate staying the same, according to the Bank of England. Credit card rates also saw a hike from 14.61% last September to 15.32% in November.

Louise Cuming, head of mortgages at Moneysupermarket.com, accused lenders of garnering good publicity by cutting the standard variable rate, which represents only a small number of customers, while other mortgage products stay the same: "If you really get down and analyse figures, the typical standard variable rate is becoming less and less key. Fixed rates have hardly moved at all and some tracker rates have actually gone up. It is less and less pertinent what the MPC (Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England) do."

A spokesperson for the Council of Mortgage Lenders said: "Clearly the credit crunch is affecting the availability and pricing of loans and it may not always be possible for lenders to pass on base rate reductions. Unless a mortgage is tracking the base rate, the relationship between a mortgage rate and the base rate has never been automatic and now it is much less clear."