Missed mortgage payments highlight consumer strain

By Jennifer Hill

LONDON (Reuters) - Almost half a million cash-strapped homeowners have missed a mortgage repayment in the past six months, figures show.

Around 463,000 people have failed to meet a mortgage payment deadline since July -- some 4 percent of the 11.8 million outstanding mortgages in the country, according to a poll by price comparison site MoneyExpert.com.

The results, from a YouGov poll of 2,082 adults, come at a time when the fallout from the credit crunch -- the end of easy credit and prospect of higher mortgage costs for many -- coupled with a depressed housing market and higher fuel prices mean this year looks set to be one of the most difficult for some time.

Add to these factors overindulgence over the festive period, and, for many, the financial hangover is proving severe.

Some 28,000 people will become insolvent in the first quarter of 2008, chartered accountant Grant Thornton has predicted, a third of whom are expected to file for bankruptcy as a direct result of Christmas debt.

"Missing a mortgage payment doesn't incur an automatic charge like failing to pay your credit card bill, but it is a sign of real distress, as keeping a roof over your head should be the priority for most of us," said Sean Gardner, chief executive of MoneyExpert.com.

"It's clear that many homeowners are feeling the strain of successive interest rate hikes."

He said spending in the run-up to Christmas had added to the pain, but that December's Bank of England base rate cut should go some way to easing the pressure on household finances.