Property Portfolio Rescue (PPR) has reported that distressed seller enquiries for the second quarter of this year were 12% higher year-on-year.
The residential property landlord has published the results of its quarterly Distress Index, which uses data on the latest PPR enquiries from distressed sellers to forecast future mortgage possessions, company liquidations and UK unemployment.
New possessions per quarter are forecast to remain close to double pre-credit crunch levels at around 12,000 per quarter for the remainder of 2010.
Total company liquidations are projected to rise again in next three quarters as business confidence dwindles and Government austerity measures hit home.
Unemployment is projected to increase again through the remainder of 2010, as public sector cuts hit home.
PPR saw record enquiries from distressed homeowners, landlords and businesses looking to sell their property in Q.2 2010.
While new repossession levels were falling from their Q1 2009 high, PPR now forecast repossessions to rise not just this quarter but for each of the next three. PPR anticipates a total of over 45,000 possessions in 2010 and many more if interest rates increase.
Nick Hopkinson, director of PPR, said: “The latest Distress Index data highlights a significant shift in market sentiment and is a lead indicator of the mood swing away from positivity within the overall housing market. Our seller enquiries have dramatically increased year-on-year which directly correlates to buyers losing confidence in the market and their own future financial security following the Election result