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Repossessions to reach 75,000 in 2009 as half a million fall into arrears - Telegraph

The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimated that the number of repossessions will soar by 67 per cent on this year's figure of about 45,000, taking the total to a level not seen since the height of Britain's last recession in 1991, when 75,500 lost their homes.

If the CML's forecast proves correct, the number of homes being repossessed will have gone up nine-fold in just five years.

In its market commentary for 2009, the CML said: "The worsening economic backdrop will inevitably lead to a rise in the number of borrowers losing their jobs and facing disruption to their income.

"Even though lenders will seek to minimise repossessions in 2009, the worsening economic backdrop does point towards an inevitable increase in the number of cases where a sustainable alternative solution cannot be found."

The group said it also expects that the number of households falling three months behind with their mortgage payments will climb to about 500,000, compared with about 210,000 this year.

It said that many of these people would only be saved from repossession thanks to recent government efforts to force lenders to give them breathing space, adding: "Lenders showing greater forebearance to reduce repossessions, including recent interventions such as the Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme, will mean that more borrowers will remain in arrears."