With a combination of falling house prices and rising unemployment, conditions are ripe for another sharp spike in repossessions. Only low interest rates are keeping repossessions in check at the moment but a rise of even a couple of percentage points, which is surely inevitable in order to control inflation, and a large number of families will begin to default on mortgage repayments. When they do, many will find they can’t sell their way out due to negative equity (they owe more on the property than it is worth).