Figures from The Charlbury Group, an arrears management company, showed the North of England with the highest number of reclaimed homes followed by Wales and the West Midlands which saw 15% of the UK’s repossessions.
The East Midlands and East Anglia accounted for 12% of the UK’s repossessions in Q1 this year while Scotland and the South East which each represented 10% of all repossessions.
Meanwhile, London and Northern Ireland only constituted 7% and 6% respectively. The South West took the smallest share with 4% of the country’s repossessions.
Dave Ford, director at The Charlbury Group, said: “This data will support what many have suspected in terms of the worst affected regions of the UK for arrears and repossessions.
“Lender forbearance, low interest rates and significant commitment to treating customers fairly from everyone in the arrears process means that overall repossession numbers are below expectations.”
The Council of Mortgage Lenders latest figures revealed that 28,900 repossessions took place in 2013 which was the lowest level since 2007. In 2009 this number stood at 48,900 and has been gradually falling year-on-year.
Richard Sexton, director of e.surv chartered surveyors, said: “Repossessions are falling across the country as the labour market begins to shift back in favour of workers. Home owners have been able to pay down their debts while interest rates have remained rock-bottom.
“However there is still a prominent North-South divide in the repossessions recovery.
“Both the North West and the North East suffered significantly from post-recession budget cuts which put pressure on their local labour markets. and local repossession rates increased as a result.”
