Mortgagee sales on the rise

MORE and more mum-and-dad property owners are losing their family homes as mortgagee sales head to record highs.

Terralink International’s latest figures show there were 2263 mortgagee sales last year, with the proportion of single property owners forced to sell increasing to 22% from 19% in 2010.

‘‘It’s more than likely these sales are for family homes, rather than rentals or investments,’’ Terralink managing director Mike Donald said.

There were 171 fewer sales than the 2434 recorded in 2010 but numbers began to rise again during the second half of last year and remained high.

Hesaid the figures showed 2011 had not been the year of economic recovery property owners had hoped for.

‘‘While it’s positive to note a slight overall decrease for the year, what we’re looking for is a sustained down- ward trend. Right now we’re experiencing the opposite.’’

For the month of December 2011 there were 223 mortgagee sales – more than seven per day.

Donald said the figures revealed some groups, such as mum-and-dad property owners, and regions, were being hit harder than others.

‘‘It’s hard to claim things are getting better for ordinary Kiwis while this trend continues.’’

Mortgagee sales in Waikato increased 35% during 2011, while Wellington recorded a 34% increase. Other regions with significantly increased sales were Marlborough, Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay and the West Coast.

Donald said the outlook for 2012 was already grim, with preliminary figures for January and February indicating mortgagee sales were significantly higher than for the same period in 2011.