Repossessions jump 40% in six months

The CML says it expects possessions and arrears to hit its forecasts for the year, and claims numbers are very small compared with nearly 12m mortgages held in the UK. In total, lenders repossessed 18,900 homes in the first six months of 2008, up 41% from 13,400 in the final six months of 2007. The CML says the numbers account for 0.16% of mortgages, less than half the peak seen during the early 1990s. Accounts in arrears of three months or more climbed to 155,600, up 20% from 129,600 during the second half of 2007, and represents around 1.33% of all mortgage loans. The CML says the...