(1888PressRelease)
November 03, 2008 - London - Statistics from UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) reveal that some 11,054 homes in Britain were repossessed in the second quarter, up from under 6,500 during the same period last year.
Repossessions are likely to increase with FSA figures showing growing number of homeowners in arrears on their mortgage. Over 312,000 homeowners were behind on their repayments by the end of June this year, up 16 percent from the same period last year.
Additionally data from Land Registry showed continued fall in home value across the UK. Statistics published by the Land Registry show that average property prices across the country have fallen 8 per cent over the past 12 months.
Data from other sources indicate that the number of new home loans has dropped sharply with banks implementing stricter lending criteria. Gross lending fell 26% in the second quarter of the year compared with a year earlier.
With lending activity down and homeowners falling behind on their mortgage repayments the battered housing market is unlikely to recover soon. However, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced last week that the government is enacting laws to that make it difficult for lenders to repossess homes.
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