Homeowners with higher mortgages 'more likely to face repossession'

Those property owners who have taken out higher mortgages are the most likely to be affected by the current downturn in the housing market.

That is the claim made by the operations director of Firstrung, who said that repossession is more of a danger for those who have upgraded to a larger home, adding that "the real damage here … unfortunately is in the family arena".

Paul Holmes went on to say that homebuyers who have recently purchased their first property face a lower risk of repossession, as they have generally been more cautious.

He commented: "The first-time buyers who have managed to buy over the last couple of years have done it very conservatively. It's people with £250,000 plus mortgages who have got the real problems.

"First-time buyers are the least likely group to be repossessed full stop."

There was a 16 per cent rise in the number of repossession actions in the first quarter of this year, according to figures published recently by the Ministry of Justice.

UK Property News posted on 13/05/2008 09:48:13