Mortgage arrears rates up over past 6 months

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has revealed that the number of mortgages in arrears of three months or more at the end of June stood at 125,100, four per cent up on the end of December but three per cent down on the end of June 2006.

Some 71,800 of the mortgages were in arrears of three to six months, 38,300 owed between six and 12 months of payments and another 15,000 were in arrears of more than 12 months.

In the context of the entire home lending market, only one per cent of mortgages were in arrears at the end of June this year and this ratio has been consistently low for several years, the CML said.

Some 14,000 properties were repossessed in the first half of this year, a rise of nearly 18 per cent on the previous six-month period and a 30 per cent increase on the first half of 2006.

Michael Coogan, director general of the CML, commented: "The sharp rise in repossessions in the first half of this year has been driven by a combination of factors, but the absolute number of repossessions is still low by historical standards.

"Interest rates are clearly higher than many were expecting and are set to remain so…Overall, the vast majority of mortgage borrowers will continue to cope, even in a market where affordability is stretched."

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