The Ministry of Justice recently released figures that show the biggest increase in repossession claims since the property crash of the early 1990s must be kept in perspective says the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

The threat of repossession to householders who have failed to keep up mortgage payments has risen by 16 percent in the past year and there have been fears that this is another sign of the crisis in the property market.

But both the CML and The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' (RICS) have predicted that people under threat of losing their homes will not reach the figures seen in 1991.

Michael Coogan, CML director general, said: “It is important to keep the situation in perspective. The data published by the Ministry of Justice on court orders for repossession show that the number of possession orders in the first quarter of this year were 9 percent higher than in the fourth quarter of 2007 and 17 percent higher than in the first quarter of 2007.

“These rises, while not welcome, are unsurprising and in line with the CML's expectations. Out of 11.8 million mortgages, the CML forecasts 45,000 repossessions this year, equating to only around 1 in 300 mortgages.

This is less than half the rate experienced in the early 1990s.

David Stubbs, RICS senior economist said: These repossession numbers emphasise the difficulties that some home owners are having in meeting their mortgage payments. This difficulty may be exacerbated over coming quarters if people who want to re-mortgage find it hard to secure an affordable rate on their new deal.

“We continue to believe that repossession themselves will increase to around 43,000 in 2008, still well below high the low point of 76,000 in 1991.”