House owners are increasingly being forced to sell their property to pay off mortgage debt, it has been revealed.More than 20 per cent of homes up for sale are on the market because owners are in financial difficulty.According to a Council of Mortgage Lenders' survey published today 5,000 properties per week are put up for sale by people forced to downsize.The figures are also expected to show repossessions have more than doubled, from 18,000 in June to more than 45,000 by the end of the year."The government has taken some helpful steps towards targeted support for some of the most vulnerable households, but with a worsening economy now needs to make it a priority to go further," said CML director general Michael CooganMortgage customers on variable or tracker rates should now have benefited from the Bank of England's interest rate reduction of 1.5 per cent.There could also be further cuts if the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee insists the rate is again lowered.Lender HSBC is to reduce its standard variable rate by 0.81 per cent, although borrowers will have to wait till December 5th to see the cut take effect.