The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) predicted repossessions would rise to 12,000 this year, up from 10,310 in 2005, while figures from the Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA) showed a 29 per cent rise in the number of court actions between quarter one 2005 and quarter two 2006.
While the levels are nowhere near those seen in the early 1990s, concerns have been raised the that rises, with repossessions set to double from their 2004 mark, were not getting the attention they warranted.
Paul Walshe, head of lender services at Moore & Blatch Solicitors, said: “People don’t want to cause concern because if they inflate a story it can affect the confidence in the market. Things are not at the headline-grabbing stage yet but we cannot ignore the doubling of repossession figures.”
Walshe confirmed he handled repossession cases for a variety of lenders and while he could not speak for the entire industry, he had seen a big jump in the number of arrears cases he was processing.
He felt while it would be difficult to predict a figure for total repossessions this year, he wouldn’t be surprised if it exceeded the CML’s original forecast.
Walshe added: “I wouldn’t put a figure on it as it’s difficult to predict and the CML is getting data from different sources. However, it would be a massive story if the number was 15,000, rather than 12,000.”
Sue Anderson, external affairs head at the CML, said: “The numbers we have published are correct as far as we know but forecasting isn’t an exact science. We’ll review our predictions when our half-year results come out in August, but I don’t anticipate that there will be much change.
“Also, you have to remember even if there is a big percentage jump, the small number of repossessions happening now means it isn’t a massive difference in reality.”
