Repossessions down

New figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show that repossessions in the last three months of 2009 were down by 13 per cent compared to the previous quarter, and two less than the same period in 2008.

The total repossessions for 2009 were 46,000 – 29,000 less than the 75,000 originally forecast. This is around half the rate of repossessions during the last recession, when over 75,000 households lost their home in 1991 alone.

Lower interest rates, greater lender forbearance and Government support have all helped more struggling families stay in their homes than predicted. Moreover, the Government has tightened the rules so that repossession is always the last resort and more than 330,000 households have benefited from help and advice with their mortgage over the past year.

The Government has put in place a range of help and support for homeowners during the downturn, from free debt advice and help with mortgage interest to backstop schemes like Homeowner Mortgage Support and the Mortgage Rescue Scheme.