Most mortgages not in trouble, says CML

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has said that its latest figures on mortgage arrears contain no surprises and show that most people are managing to meet their payments.

Commenting on its own findings that in the first half of the year the proportion of mortgages ending in repossession had risen from its "low base" 0.11 per cent to 0.16 per cent, the body emphasised that this showed "the overwhelming majority of the UK's borrowers continue to pay their mortgages in full every month and will continue to do so".

The CML said that what had to be put in perspective is that there are 11.74 million mortgages in the UK, of which it expects only 170,000 to be in arrears of three months or more by the end of the year.

Mortgage holders seeking to remortgage after their fixed-rate deals run out this year could be best off going for a long-term deal, it has been suggested.

Savills Private Finance stated that a 25-year deal will work out cheaper than changing every two years, the Daily Telegraph reported this week.