A total of 12,800 homes were repossessed by lenders in the first three months of the year, 50% more than in the first quarter of last year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said today.

The figure is up on the fourth quarter of last year when 10,500 homeowners in the UK lost their property, and compares with a figure of 8,500 in the first three months of last year. But the CML said it expected to revise down its prediction that 75,000 homes would be repossessed this year.

The number of borrowers who have fallen behind on their mortgage repayments is also rising, with 265,100 households now at least three months in arrears.

However, the CML said that current low interest rates meant a better indication of the state of the market was how many borrowers had arrears equal to at least 2.5% of their outstanding mortgage balance.

On this measure, the number of struggling borrowers has risen by 62% year-on-year from 127,000 to 205,300.

The CML’s figures only cover first-charge mortgages so there is no indication of how many borrowers are behind with repayments on second loans secured on their homes.

Source/Full Story:  guardian.co.uk

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