Prime mortgage borrowers, at least one month in arrears, have risen 50 per cent to 3.24 per cent of prime loans by the end of September compared with a year earlier. The figures, from Standard & Poor’s meant that combined with falling house prices will put pressure on prime ratings for the first time. The
Nine UK building societies have had their credit ratings downgraded by agency Fitch as falling house prices and the worsening economy are ‘likely to hit profits’. Fitch said that it was particularly concerned with the large exposure of building societies to sub-prime mortgages, buy-to-let loans and high loan-to-value deals. The ratings of a society indicate
A fifth of households are struggling or falling behind on their mortgage repayments, according to research by Shelter. In a survey of sub-prime borrowers, 5 per cent expect to be repossessed in the next six months, with more than 36 per cent saying they would be unable to meet mortgage payments in full if their
Repossessions among sub-prime borrowers accounted for 30 per cent of all repossessions in the UK during 2008, Fitch Ratings said yesterday. Despite the sector comprising less than 10 per cent of the entire UK mortgage market, approximately 12,200 properties repossessed last year were from so-called sub-prime borrowers, and the numbers gathered pace during the year,
Details of the homeowner mortgage support scheme announced by Gordon Brown last week have been released and fewer than 10,000 homeowners are likely to qualify. The criteria to qualify for the deferment of mortgage repayments for up to two years includes having a mortgage of less than £400,000; borrowers having no more than £16,000 in
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has recorded its highest ever level of arrears in sub-prime mortgages. The ratings agency said that arrears have increased by 24 per cent year on year as a result of house price decline, refinancing problems, and a lack of affordability. Mortgages taken out in 2005 and 2006 now have the highest