Repossessions increase in 2007 says National Homebuyers

The number of people who failed in their attempts to avoid repossession in 2007 jumped to an eight-year high.

[ClickPress, Mon Feb 18 2008] That is according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders' (CML) latest figures, which revealed that repossessions hit 27,100 in the year.

The percentage of people with mortgages who failed to avoid repossession increased to 0.23 per cent of all mortgage borrowers in the UK.

According to the CML, that is up on the 0.19 per cent figure recorded in 2006 and there was more bad news for mortgage holders.

The percentage of people in arrears by at least three months rose to 4.6 per cent in the second half of the year, the highest level seen since the last six months of 2002.

"The financial pressure on many homeowners is increasing and it seems certain that repossessions will trend up significantly during 2008, particularly if the economy suffers an extended marked slowdown and unemployment starts rising," said Howard Archer from Global Insight.

"The full effect of the marked overall increase in interest rates between August 2006 and July 2007 is still feeding through.

"Despite the December and February interest rate cuts by the Bank of England, a substantial number of homeowners are still facing markedly higher mortgage payments as the cheap fixed-rates that they took out in the latter months of 2005 and the first half of 2006 expire and they have to re-mortgage," he added.

Quick property sale expert Julian King adds, "Homeowners who are facing the threat of repossession should act quickly to avoid the worst.

"Options exist to assist the homeowner facing financial difficulty. Our Sell and Rent Back solution allows the homeowner to sell their house for cash immediately and rent it back for as long as suits.

"We do advise homeowners to use a reputatable national company when selecting a mortage rescue provider".

Mr King is a director of National Homebuyers and is also a founder member of APBA, the Approved Property Buyers Association, which is calling for government regulation of the Quick Property Sale and Sell and Rent Back industries.

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