UK house repossessions surge by 71 percent

LONDON (AP) -- Britain's financial services regulator says home repossessions in Britain rose 71 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier to 11,054, in another token of the financial crisis and the country's collapsing housing market.
The Financial Services Authority report reflects the strain British homeowners are under as the credit crisis has resulted in mortgage rates increasing rapidly over the last year, leaving many unable to pay their mortgages.
The simultaneous housing market crash -- which has seen average house prices fall by more than 10 percent in the last year -- means many homeowners now owe more on their homes than they are worth, so they can't sell their homes to cancel their mortgage debts