The popularity of fixed term home loans rose in every state during November this year to hit 10.9 per cent of approvals nationally, according to customer data from Mortgage Choice, Australia's largest independently-owned mortgage broker.

This 29-month high was a considerable increase on the 7.7 per cent reached in October.

Meanwhile, standard variable home loan products rose to 49.3 per cent of approvals and basic variable dropped to 36.1 per cent - the lowest level in two years.

Mortgage Choice spokesperson Kristy Sheppard said, "Australia's hunger for fixed interest rates is well and truly becoming a louder rumble, with demand lifting from a trough of 0.88 per cent of home loan approvals in January 2010 to 10.9 per cent in November."

"The popularity of these less flexible products offering a set term of steady minimum repayments increased 3.2 percentage points last month, indicating rising borrower caution and conservatism in the face of higher interest rates and living costs.

"The elevated pricing of most fixed rates compared to variable rates has not deterred one in nine new Australian borrowers from fixing the rate on part or all of their home loan. The value of peace of mind over repayment level should not be underestimated, however choice of home loan type must always come down to individual financial circumstances, needs and lifestyle.

"In other home loan preference news, standard variable remained the top dog at 49.3 per cent of all approvals. Basic variable dropped to 36.1 per cent, a 25-month low, probably due to the increasing popularity of feature-filled professional packages on offer with standard variable home loans.

"Mortgage Choice is now able to measure our customers' take up of 'ongoing discount' home loans - aka professional packages - and demand for these stands at 16.4 per cent of November's standard variable approvals. We will watch with interest the developments with this loan type."

Line of credit home loans, often popular with investors, fell to 3.7 per cent of approvals from 3.9 per cent.