Property Repossessions Fall For a Third Quarter

Reports from the Council of Mortgage Lenders suggest that the amount of properties being repossessed has dropped for the third quarter in a row.

9,400 properties were seized in April, May and June this year which is 400 fewer January to March 2010.

Also, the number of people in arrears fell by 5% to 178,200 at the end of June. The number of possession claims from lenders fell by 5% to 17,774. The number of claims granted by the courts fell by 7% from the first quarter to 13,389.

Despite this, advisors are sceptical about the future of the amount of repossessed houses for sale in the future.

Fewer property owners experienced mortgage difficulties compared to the 1990’s and the figures predicted for 2010. However; rising interest rates, unemployment and reduced support for mortgage payments could push these figures up.

Around 39,000 properties will be repossessed this year, instead of 53,000 but even a slight change for the worse could change that.

Property owners in arrears can be put in 2 groups: low level arrears (fallen behind by 1.5%-2.5%) and high level arrears (fallen behind by 10%).

80,100 households in the UK belong in the lower bracket while 26,400 are at the higher end.
Although, if interest rates rise along with a fall of government support, there will be a rise in property repossession.