Rising unemployment in the UK and increasing pressure on household budgets will likely lead to more borrowers falling behind on their mortgages and properties being repossessed next year, according to a new forecast released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
The agency said that approximately 45,000 homes could be repossessed next year, up by 20 percent from an estimated 37,000 homes this year, while the number of borrowers falling behind on their mortgage payments is also expected to rise.
“Some of our earlier pessimism stemmed from the emphasis we gave to the likely cumulative pressure on household finances from the higher cost of living and modest growth in incomes. But this appears only now to be emerging as a driver of fresh arrears,” said Bob Pannell, Chief Economist of the CML.
“We foresee a deterioration in the number of borrowers behind on their mortgages, and a more difficult and protracted period of adjustment for households seeking to reorder their finances.”
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