Repossession Orders Up 24% As Housing Market Crumbles
News that repossession orders have increased by 24% in the second quarter of 2008 has prompted furious criticism of the government's no-action stance with the Tories and Liberal Democrats joining forces in an onslaught against Labour. While the number of recession orders hit 28,658 for the second quarter of 2008, this is still well down on the 51,037 quarterly figure reached at the pinnacle of the 1991 recession.
The problem with the housing market is the lag between recession and repossession orders, which can be some months, lulling many into a false sense of security. This slowdown in the UK economy has the potential to seriously dent the UK property market and bring record numbers of repossessed properties onto the market. This in itself is bad news for prices because very often these homes are sold at less that the market value to ensure a quick liquidation.
As the days tick by it has never been more vital for the government to take the lead and steer the housing market away from the abyss. Unless we hear some news on a possible lifeboat for the property market fairly soon it may well be too late to make a difference.
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