London had the most repossessions in the first three months of 2010, with 166% more than the second highest city, Birmingham. The capital has been worst hit by the after-effects of the recession and many homes continue to be repossessed as financially challenged home-owners are unable to keep up mortgage repayments.
The other cities making the top five by number of repossessions across the UK are Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Northern Ireland’s capital, Belfast.
Also in the top 10 were Nottingham, the Northern Ireland town of Craigavon, Peterborough, Coventry and Leeds. Bar London, no Southern towns featured in the top 10 list.
Commenting, Mark Pilling, managing director, Spicerhaart Corporate Sales said: “While we may now officially be out of the recession, the after-effects of the downturn continue to make themselves felt in many parts of the country. Repossession numbers continue to rise in city centres where home owners have been hit hard by unemployment, increasing inflation and falling house prices.
“In order to help these homeowners recover as much of the value of their loans as possible, it is important that possession sales are managed quickly and efficiently, which is why using a specialist asset manager such as ourselves can help speed the process along and relieve the pain for all parties concerned.”
