A JUMP OF 10 per cent in the number of homeowners in mortgage arrears between the end of September and the end of December last has been described as “astonishing” by lobby group New Beginning.
Published yesterday, the Central Bank figures show that 70,911 mortgages had fallen behind by three months or more at the end of December 2011.
The increase to over 9 per cent in the number of home-loan repayments in arrears is the largest increase since Central Bank records began nearly two years ago.
In March 2010, the number of mortgages in arrears was 49,609. By the end of last year, however, that figure had risen by 42 per cent to 70,911.
David Hall, co-founder of New Beginning, a group that provides legal representation to hard-pressed mortgage holders, said the figures showed “no recovery of any shape or form”.
The quarterly figures from the Central Bank show that the numbers of householders in mortgage arrears at the end of December is up by almost 8,000 compared to the end of September last year.
The figures show that 74,379 residential mortgage accounts had been restructured compared to 69,735 at the end of September.
More than 36,797 householders are keeping up with the restructured arrangements, but 37,582 are experiencing some form of arrears.
Banks repossessed 133 properties during the quarter, the majority of which – 83 – were voluntarily surrendered or abandoned. The remaining were repossessed by court order.
During the quarter, legal proceedings taken in 95 cases comprised arrears totalling €13.9 million on loans equating to €37.8 million. Some 187 court proceedings were concluded, of which the courts granted orders for possession or sale in 109 cases.
The Central Bank said the number of mortgages also continued to fall in the three months to the end of December, with 768,917 private residential mortgages held in the State, totalling €113.5 billion. This compares with 794,609 held at the end of September 2009.
Mr Hall described as “astonishing” that three out of four were in arrears of 180 days or more. Mr Hall said this proved that “once you start on the slippery slope of arrears and difficulty, it continues down”.
He said while efforts to work with borrowers to restructure loans were welcome, he questioned if they were just “keeping borrowers in a holding area for a lot longer”.
“The concern would be while there is an attempt to show some restructuring and it is appreciated, it’s not necessarily a good thing.”
Mr Hall said the repossession figures published by the Central Bank showed only those repossessions that had completed and did not reflect the far higher number that were “in train”.
He said with the figures putting the combined number of final demand notices and legal proceedings in progress at 12,000, it was “disingenuous” for the Central Bank to quote such small repossession figures.
Mr Hall described the figures as indicative that “this is a problem that is not going away.”
Director of Consumer Protection at the Central Bank Bernard Sheridan said it was critical for borrowers in difficulty to get in touch with their lender as soon as possible.
