Repossession figures lower than expected

Published: February 08, 2008

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has revealed that repossessions were lower in 2007 than had previously been forecast.

According to the organisation, 27,100 homes were repossessed in 2007, down on the 30,000 that was predicted.

It means that only 0.23 per cent of all mortgages ended in repossession.

Further to this, the number of repossessions in the second half of the year was actually lower than the number in the first half.

A total of 13,600 homes were repossessed in the first six months, while only 13,500 went the same way in the last six months.

"Lenders take their responsibilities to borrowers facing repayment difficulties very seriously, and many go to exceptional lengths to provide debt counselling, reschedule payments, extend loan terms, or in some circumstances even allow payment breaks," said Michael Coogan, director general of the CML.

"They abandon repossession action right up to the last moment if they can reach a paymentsolution consistent with both the borrower's and the lender's interests," he added.

The Bank of England gave mortgage holders a further boost yesterday (February 7th) when it cut the base rate of interest to 5.25 per cent.