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THE number of families in Salisbury who risk losing their homes has risen dramatically this year, and the city has been ranked the sixth worst in the country for families reaching the brink of homelessness.

Official figures released by the Ministry of Justice have revealed the effect of super-size mortgages taken out during the housing boom now that prices are falling and costs rising. Between January and March this year, 27,530 families were issued with possession orders - the final legal step before repossession - by county courts in England and Wales.

In the south-west 2,298 mortgage possession orders were made, an 11 per cent rise since last year. Salisbury has the worst results in the south-west, with a 92 per cent increase, although that equates to just 25 orders. Possession orders are at their highest level since the last property crash in the early 1990s and experts believe the number will climb even higher this year. The figures are backed up by statistics released by homeless charity Shelter, which showed more than 6,000 worried homeowners approaching the charity with mortgage problems in the first three months of 2008, an increase of 38 per cent on the same period last year.

Shelter chief executive, Adam Sampson, said: "Homeowners are being hammered from all sides as they face the end of fixed- term deals, are saddled with new costlier mortgages, and cope with soaring food and fuel bills. People are sinking in a sea of debt and sadly, under the pressure, they are losing their homes."

The figures do not represent actual repossessions, they show those that will lose their homes if they cannot find money or strike a deal with their lender. Even after a county court has made a possession order, a family can still negotiate a deal to stop repossession. Last year there were 95,187 orders made, but only 27,100 repossessions.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders predicts there will be 45,000 repossessions this year.

Britain's general union GMB is calling for more social housing and a better safety net to prevent people losing their homes when they get into difficulties with their mortgage repayments.

New figures from GMB show the average house price in the south-west is 6.9 times the average earnings for full-time workers, well above the long-term ratio of house prices being between four and five times average earnings over the last 30 years. In Wiltshire, if house prices were to revert to five times average earnings, the average house price would drop by £45,408.


Government "should take action"


The study was commissioned after reports that GMB members are totally priced out of the housing market and an increasing number of members with mortgages are being hit by repossession orders, with no adequate safety net to stop families being thrown out of their homes.

GMB members not already on the property ladder are shut out of the market.

Members who own houses are finding that when their pay does not keep up with inflation, or if they or their partners lose their jobs, their home comes under immediate threat when they face repayment difficulties.

GMB wants the government to take action to get new social houses built, inflation-level pay rises and enhanced redundancy pay. It also wants the banks to be forced to reschedule mortgage repayments to affordable levels and, in some cases, for mortgage interest relief to be paid by Social Security.

2:59pm Wednesday 14th May 2008

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