Repossessions up 12%
21 November 2008
New figures released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show that repossessions have risen 12% to 11,300 in the third quarter of the year from July to September.
This means that there have already been more repossessions in 2008 than 2007, and CML director Michael Coogan is still predicting 45,000 reposessions by the end of the year as the economic situation worsens.
The figures also show that the number of borrowers in mortgage arrears was up 8% on the previous quarter to 168,000.
Commenting on the figures, Shelter chief executive Adam Sampson said;
'Lenders may claim they are using repossessions as a last resort, but they must not pat themselves on the back too soon as both repossessions and arrears are still continuing to rise.
'There are still many severe shocks to come in the near future, including the sharp increase in unemployment, the thousands in negative equity and the frightening increase of buy to let mortgages that are defaulting.
'We are nowhere near out of the woods, and the Government must continue putting pressure on lenders and the courts to do everything possible to keep people in their homes.'
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