Repossessions at eight-year high

Last Modified: 08 Feb 2008
By: Bridgid Nzekwu

There were 27,100 house repossessions in 2007, the highest level since 1999. And there are warnings of worse to come.

Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders reveal a 20 per cent rise in the number of people having their homes repossessed.

But it could apparently have been worse.

With estate agents and surveyors reporting a depressed market, house prices falling and mortgages getting more expensive, more and more properties are finding their way to auction sales.

And an increasing number are properties that have been repossessed because their owners have fallen on hard times.

Around one third of the properties at one auction in Derby are repossessed homes or buy-to-let investment properties that their owners can no longer afford.

And that's not unusual. Other auction companies say that in recent months 50 per cent of the properties on their lists have been distressed sales.

Housing repossessions

In 2006 there were 22,700 repossessions
In 2007 that rose to 27,100, an increase of more than 19 per cent

But mortgage lenders point out that the number of repossessions is still a tiny fraction of all mortgages.

Behind those grim statistics are couples like David Grant and Judith Laurie from Nottingham.

After 15 years running his own property maintenance business, Mr Grant lost a major client in 2005 and had to liquidate his company.

He took out a second mortgage in 2006 to tide him over but fell behind on his payments, and the mortgage companies took him to court.

Mortgage lenders insist they only repossess when there is no realistic alternative. And they point out that the figures are not as bad as predicted.

They have now lost their home. It was on the market for £235,000 last year but didn't sell.

The mortgage lender has now dropped the price to under £200,000. The couple fear they will not get a penny when it sells.

Today's figures also show the number of people in arrears of up to six months has gone up. And there is criticism that many of those are ending up in court too soon.

Mortgage lenders insist they only repossess when there is no realistic alternative. And they point out that the figures are not as bad as predicted.

But the full effect of the credit crunch has yet to filter through, so many more people may be on course to lose their homes.