Perspective needed over repossession figures

Following the release of the latest repossession figures by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) expresses its regret over the reported rise, but urges a sense of perspective on the market as a whole.

Peter Bolton King, Chief Executive at the NAEA, comments: “We always regret hearing news about repossession rises. Difficult economic conditions have taken their toll on some homeowners recently and this is certainly unfortunate. It is vital that people looking at the wider market do not lose their sense of perspective, however. The 2007 repossession figures are still massively down on those seen in the early nineties, when nearly 80,000 were recorded in one year compared with 27,100 last year. The figures are in fact slightly lower than those of 1999 so this is by no means the worst the market has experienced. It is good to hear that they are down on original CML estimates as well.

“While conditions are still difficult, we’re hopeful that the recent interest rate reductions will provide some respite for homeowners. Further rate decreases would be very welcome over the coming months and we urge the Bank of England to consider this.”