Number of NSW mortgage repossessions holds steady at low levels

New South Wales mortgage repossession rates were steady in the October quarter.

There were 751 applications between August and October, compared with 745 for the same period in 2010.

But the monthly rate is up slightly on 2010. There has been an average of 246 applications to the NSW Supreme Court per month this year, up from 213 in 2010.

The numbers aren’t a patch on the post-GFC 2009 levels, which had 318 applications per month.

The peak year for possession writs was in 2006, with 447 writs per month in the wake of the low-doc (low document) price boom that swept Sydney's outer-west.

The 2010 tally was the lowest since 2003.

The numbers include applications that were sought but not necessarily proceeded with as court orders.