Repossession stats 'sensationalised'

The rise in the number of people struggling with their mortgage repayments who have had their properties repossessed is being sensationalised by the media, it has been claimed.

According to the Intermediary Mortgages Lenders Association (IMLA), talking up the number of repossessions is damaging confidence in the market and needs to be kept in perspective.

"Lenders and indeed the government are working to keep people in their homes by offering better advice to those in difficulty and working to develop ways to avoid possession if at all possible," the association claims.

The IMLA said that in the second quarter of this year there were 11,054 repossessions, an increase from of 6,476 when compared with figures from the same period last year.

However, the group said that if repossessions hit their predicted volume of 40,000 by the end of the year, they will account for one per cent of outstanding mortgages.

Meanwhile the Council of Mortgage Lenders predicts 45,000 people will lose their homes by the end of 2008.

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