The Council of Mortgage Lenders have released latest figures which show that within the first six months of this year, only 6,850 properties were repossessed, compared to last year's figure of 10,460 for the same period.
The CML puts this down to low interest rates, low unemployment and high property prices, which produce a favourable environment for homeowners. Cases where mortgages are three to six months in arrears fell from 90,490 to 73,660 in the first half of 2002, while the number of loans between six and twelve months in arrears fell from 43,540 to 41,210. Loans with over twelve months arrears also fell from 19,340 to 17,880.
Despite these encouraging figures, the CML warns borrowers not be complacent and reiterated the fact that anyone who has taken out a mortgage since 1995 would get no Government help with repayments for nine months if they lost their job. Borrowers have enjoyed a long period of continued improvement due to low interest rates but we could see changes to the contrary if we experience a rise in unemployment within the next twelve months.