Fall in repossessions ‘unfounded’

A financial thinktank, the Financial Inclusion Centre (FIC), has warned that predictions of a fall in the number of repossessions are unfounded as official figures do not take into account sub-prime lenders details. FIC said it expected an increase in the number of repossessions, particularly in middle and lower-income groups who ‘mortgaged themselves to the hilt’, to be driven by rising unemployment. Research showed that sub-prime lenders had a higher proportion of customers likely to lose their jobs and default on their homes, and were also more likely to press for repossession. The warning comes after the Council of Mortgage Lenders said it expected to revise down its prediction of 75,000 homes being repossessed this year.