Lunchtime news Wednesday 29 October 2023

The number of repossessions jumped by 70 per cent in the past year. According to figures from the Financial Services Authority, some 11,054 homes in Britain were repossessed in the second quarter of the year, up from just under 6,500 during the same period last year, and 9,172 in the first three months of 2008.The number of repossessions is expected to continue rising, with the FSA figures also revealing an increase in the number of homeowners who are in arrears on their mortgage. By the end of June this year, some 312,000 families were behind on their mortgage payments, up 16 per cent compared to the same period in 2007.

Meanwhile, homeowners in some of central London’s wealthiest areas are also beginning to feel the pinch, according to data published by the Land Registry yesterday. In September, house prices in Kensington and Chelsea – which had been steadily rising at an annualised rate of 33.5 per cent a year ago – fell by 2 per cent, having fallen by 1.1 per cent the previous month. House prices in Islington fell by 1 per cent in September from August, and in Westminster, which includes Mayfair, the area favoured by hedge fund managers, it fell by a more modest 0.8 per cent. Many of the areas now showing declines are those that have been home to high-flying financiers whose careers may be in doubt as leading financial firms cut back on staff. Overall, prices of homes in England and Wales have fallen by 8 per cent year on year, losing 2.2 per cent in value in September alone.

But mortgage approvals for house purchases rose in September for the first time in more than a year, but remained near record lows, new figures from the Bank of England show. The Bank said mortgage approvals for new house purchases rose to 33,000 last month from a record low of 32,000 in August, the first rise since June 2007, but at the second lowest level recorded since the series began in 1993. The level is also more than 67 per cent lower than the 101,000 mortgages approved in September last year.