The repossession rate - already at its lowest since records began - continued to fall in the second quarter of 2015, according to latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, as did the number of mortgage arrears.

In terms of arrears, the total number of mortgages with arrears equivalent to 2.5% or more of the mortgage balance was 106,400.This equated to 0.96% of all mortgages - again, the lowest rate since quarterly records began in 2008, while the repossession rate fell to 0.02%, equivalent to 1 in 5,000 mortgages.

There were 2,500 properties taken into possession in the second quarter, down from 3,000 the previous quarter and 5,400 in the second quarter of last year. Of these, 1,800 were in the owner-occupier market and 700 in the buy-to-let market. 

This is the first quarter in which the CML has been able to publish fully consistent data on arrears and possessions across both the owner-occupier and the buy-to-let markets. Of all loans with arrears of more than 2.5% of balance, 100,700 were owner-occupier, and 5,700 buy-to-let.