Mortgage arrears and repossessions still falling, say CML

by Aaron Strutt

Nov 11 2014

The number of property repossessions and mortgages in arrears fell during the third quarter of 2014, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

Statistics show that the proportion of mortgages with arrears equivalent to 2.5% or more of the total mortgage value was 1.12% - down from 1.18% in the second quarter. This is the lowest proportion since the first quarter of 2008 (1.08%).

During the third quarter, the proportion of all mortgaged properties taken into possession by lenders was 0.04% (5,000 properties). Around 1,100 of them were buy-to-lets.

Paul Smee, director general at the CML, said: "Encouragingly, recent research also suggests that many households are preparing themselves for the prospect of higher interest rates, so we expect any uptick in payment difficulties to be relatively muted if and when rates do begin rising."