Mortgage arrears rise again
In a disastrous week for the UK property market it has been revealed that mortgages with arrears in excess of 2.5% have risen in number by 12% from the fourth quarter of 2008 to a massive 205,300. However, the rise is dwarfed by the 62% like-for-like increase compared to the first quarter of 2008 when the credit crunch started to take effect.
While there had been hopes earlier in the month that the UK property market was on the verge of turning, a number of depressing reports and disappointing figures appear to have reduced the enthusiasm in the short to medium term. It was also revealed that there was a significant jump in the number of buy-to-let investors who lost their properties in the first quarter of 2009 as the credit crunch continues to take in all property owners in the UK.
On a more positive note, a number of repossessions were cancelled when government-sponsored rescue schemes begin to hit home. How long these rescue packages will last and how effective they will be in the medium term is very much open to debate. Is the UK property market on the verge of another downward slide?
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