The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has downplayed its latest repossession figures, which revealed 18,900 cases where lenders took possession of the property in the first half of this year, up from 13,400 in the second half of 2007. The figure is also a significant increase on the first half of last year of 12,800 cases.
The CML said the figures bore out its forecast of 45,000 total possessions and 170,000 mortgages in arrears of more than three months by the end of the year. The body argued these numbers remain extremely small when seen in the context of the 11.74 million mortgages in the UK.
On arrears, the total number of households with arrears of three months or more was 155,600 at the end of the first half of the year, up from 129,600 at the end of 2007 and 120,800 at the end of the first half of last year. The arrears rate stood at 1.33% of all mortgages, up from 1.10% at the end of 2007 and 1.02% at the end of the first half of last year.
Michael Coogan, director general of the CML, observed: "The number of people facing difficulty needs to be kept in perspective. The good news is that most people are coping well and continuing to pay their mortgages in full, despite the higher costs of food and fuel and the higher mortgage rates now prevailing in the market for those coming off cheaper original deals.
"But it is inevitable that more borrowers' coping strategies will come under pressure in current conditions than in the unusually benign years of the last decade. That is why lenders, Government and the advice sector are working closely together to minimise the impact on borrowers.”
The CML has today published a leaflet for MPs designed to help them to advise any constituents who may approach them for help as a result of mortgage payment difficulties.
