Mortgage arrears numbers fall

Mortgage arrears number fall in second quarter of this year, according to latest figures from UK Finance.

The figures showed that there were 73,580 homeowner mortgages in arrears of 2.5 per cent or more of the outstanding balance in the second quarter of 2020, this was 3 per cent fewer than in the same quarter of the previous year.

Within the total, there were 22,840 homeowner mortgages with more significant arrears (representing 10 per cent or more of the outstanding balance). This was 2 per cent fewer than in the same quarter of the previous year.

The number of homeowner arrears increased in Quarter 1 (Q1) 2020, likely due to the early effects of COVID-19, and have remained at similar levels in Q2 2020. These levels of arrears remain significantly lower than those seen in previous years.

Mortgage lenders have been offering payment deferrals to customers and buy-to-let landlords where covid-19 has impacted their ability to meet their monthly mortgage payments, with mortgage arrears remaining low in Q2 2020 as a result. Over two million mortgage payment deferrals have been approved to date, with just under one million still in place as borrowers begin to exit their payment deferral arrangements and resume monthly payments.

There were 5,000 buy-to-let mortgages in arrears of 2.5 per cent or more of the outstanding balance in the second quarter of 2020, 6 per cent greater than in the same quarter of the previous year. Within the total, there were 1,270 buy-to-let mortgages with more significant arrears (representing 10 per cent or more of the outstanding balance). This was 5 per cent greater than in the same quarter of the previous year. This recent increase in buy-to-let arrears is relatively small and from a low-base, and is likely due to the early effects of covid-19. Again, these levels of arrears remain lower than seen in previous years.

90 homeowner mortgaged properties and 130 buy-to-let mortgaged properties were taken into possession in the second quarter of 2020, some 93 per cent and 80 per cent fewer, respectively, than in the same quarter a year earlier.  Following the industry moratorium on involuntary possessions, these low possessions numbers in Q2 2020 reflect cases where the customer requested the possession to go ahead or where the property was vacant.