Lenders expect repossessions to rise in 2012
MORTGAGE lenders expect the number of repossessions to shoot up by over 20 per cent next year, figures out yesterday revealed.
Around 37,000 properties have been repossessed this year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) estimates, and it expects the figure to rise to around 45,000 in 2012.
And while mortgage lending grew in November for the fourth consecutive month, the group said the economic worries had prompted it to revise down its forecasts for the coming year.
The CML now expects net mortgage lending of just £5bn in 2012, compared to £9bn this year.
The gloomy economic outlook is causing people to perceive the value of their homes falling even harder than before, according to separate data released this morning.
More than a fifth of households said the property in which they live fell in value this month, the index from Markit and Knight Frank showed. Only seven per cent thought the value had increased.
Rents have dipped for the first time in 10 months in December, falling 0.4 per cent on the month — yet remain 3.5 per cent higher than this time last year, LSL Property Services said today.