Homeowner Loan Arrears On The Increase
It would seem that the effects of the credit crunch and the economic slow down in the UK are continuing to make themselves felt across the country as many borrowers are finding it increasingly difficult to keep up to date with the repayments on their homeowner loans and mortgages. And the level of loan arrears is increasing at an alarming rate according to the latest figures from the financial regulator the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
The FSA has estimated that somewhere in the region of 340,000 homeowner loans were already in an arrears situation by the end of September last year and the latest statistics suggest that this figure has risen by around 60,000 cases between September and the end of last year alone.
This shows an increase of approximately 10 per cent in the number of new loan arrears cases over a three month period, the number of new cases had previously remained reasonably constant at around 54,000 every three months since the beginning of 2007.
With the economy still in an extremely difficult position and unemployment levels showing a sharp increase over recent months, with the prospect of becoming worse, it is feared that the total number of homeowner loan arrears cases is set to increase further yet.
The total number of arrears cases on homeowner loans in the UK has increased by 10 per cent since the middle of last year and by a worrying 24 per cent since twelve months ago. Not surprisingly, these figures also translate into an increase in the number of properties being repossessed.
During the third quarter of last year, there were 13,161 new possession orders granted, an increase of 92 per cent on the same time one year previously.
