Mortgagee sales have a reached a record high, with six forced sales a day across New Zealand, and family homes are over-represented in the statistics.
Figures released by property research company Terralink International show there were 524 mortgagee sales from January to March this year - the highest first-quarter number on record - compared to 424 last year and 519 in 2010.
Although the 2265 mortgagee sales in 2011 is down from 2434 in 2010.
Terralink managing director Mike Donald says 2011 was not the year of economic recovery property owners had been hoping for.
"While its positive to note a slight overall decrease for the year, what we're looking for is a sustained downward trend," he said.
And, he said, mortgagee sales of homes owned by individuals with a single property, such as family homes, rather than rentals or investments are on the rise.
"Looking behind the numbers, we see the proportion of individuals with a single property facing mortgagee sales increased in 2011, up from 19 percent in 2010 to 22 percent in 2011."
"More mum and dad property owners are losing their homes. It's hard to claim things are getting better for ordinary Kiwis while this trend continues."
Mr Donald says the Waikato and Wellington regions were hit the hardest with a 35 percent increase in mortgagee sales for both areas in 2011 compared to the year before.
And there won't be any let up for the rest of 2012, Mr Donald says: "the outlook already looks grim".
NZN