Mortgage repossessions in the United Kingdom decreased notably from last year in the first quarter, data released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) showed Thursday.
The number of residential properties taken into possession decreased by around 17 percent year-on-year to 8,000 in the three months to March. Repossessions, however, increased from the fourth quarter's total of 7,700. Around 20 percent of overall repossessions were on buy-to-let rather than owner-occupier properties.
Meanwhile, the rate of repossession stayed unchanged sequentially at 0.07 percent during the three-month period, which was the equivalent of fewer than 1 in 1,400 mortgaged properties being taken into possession by lenders each quarter.
At the same time, across all categories, the number of mortgages with arrears equivalent to 2.5 percent or more of the mortgage balance remained unchanged at 159,800 at the end of the first quarter.
CML forecasts that there would be a total of 35,000 repossessions at the end of the year, with 160,000 mortgages being in arrears of 2.5 percent or more.
"Mortgage arrears and repossessions have stabilized at levels lower than many anticipated when the economic downturn started," CML director general Paul Smee said.
"Low interest rates, continuing employment, lender forbearance and tactical public policy support have combined to ensure that repossession really is a last resort."
In a separate statement, the CML said that the value mortgages advanced to the buy-to-let segment increased to GBP 4.2 billion in the first quarter from GBP 3.7 billion a year earlier as demand for good quality rental property continued to increase both among land lords and tenants.
The latest figure was, however, lower than GBP 4.6 billion recorded in the fourth quarter. Around half of the buy-to-let mortgages was for remortgage, rather than house purchase, data showed.
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