Number of home losses at new high
Thursday 11th February 2010, 9:12AM GMT.
The number of people who lost their homes soared to a 14-year high during 2009, figures showed today.
Around 46,000 people had their property repossessed during the year, the highest level since 1995 and 15 per cent more than in 2008, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
But the figure was well down on the group’s original forecast that 75,000 people would lose their homes during the year.
A further 188,300 homeowners had fallen behind with their mortgage by the end of 2009 and were in arrears of at least 2.5 per cent of their debt.
This was three per cent lower than during the third quarter and down on the CML’s forecast of 195,000.
A combination of low interest rates, increased lender forbearance and the introduction of Government schemes to help people who are struggling to keep up with their mortgage helped to keep repossession figures far lower than forecast.
But the CML warned that the economy was not “out of the woods” yet, and that 2010 is likely to be a challenging year for many homeowners.
It has previously predicted that 53,000 homes will be repossessed this year, with a further 205,000 people ending 2010 in arrears.
But it said today that these forecasts may be “a little pessimistic” due to unemployment not rising by as much as had been expected, and low interest rates.
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