Paul Duckworth, managing director of xit2, expressed his concerns that recent media repossession figures may be taken out of context.
The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) has recently reported that mortgage repossession actions have increased by 35 per cent. The government department figures also showed a 25 per cent increase in the number of orders made from last year with a total of 14,048 made in 2005.
More than 56 per cent of orders made were suspended, a drop of 3 per cent from the first quarter of 2004. Claims have also been made that non-conforming lenders are quick to pursue repossession, according to research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
xit2’s repossession exchange (REx) figures for the past 18 months report that eviction instructions received have increased by 19 per cent but
eviction instructions proceeding to the point of repossession have increased by a mere 7 per cent.
The exchange co-ordinates the interactivities of arrears, realisation and litigation departments, estate agents, corporate asset managers, valuers, contractors and conveyancing solicitors.
Duckworth said: “The figures being bandied around are somewhat alarmist. The number of actions doesn’t necessarily transpire into repossessions.
“Due to house price increases over the past few years people still have equity on their property which should help avoid the necessity of repossession. Lenders are using court actions to be proactive in warning borrowers at an earlier stage.”
Andy Frankish, managing director of Mortgage Talk, agreed. He said: “We monitor lapses of insurance policies and we haven’t noticed any increases in people cancelling life insurance.
“These act as an indication that people are struggling with mortgage repayments; as a result we haven’t seen any increase in repossession statistics.”
