Recently released figures have shown that in the final three months of last the number of properties in the UK falling into repossession fell significantly, as did the levels of mortgage arrears in the UK. Many officials believe that the rock bottom interest rate and the various measures that have been put into place by the government may have helped to bring down mortgage arrears and repossession levels.

The Labour government is said to have been pleased with regards to the news of the fall in repossessions, as it is keen to drum up support from voters in the run up to the general election later this year.

A number of schemes and measures have been put into place by the government to try and make improvements within the turbulent mortgage and housing sector over the past twelve months, and the figures seem to indicate that some of these have paid off to some degree.

John Healey, the Housing Minister, claims that around 330,000 families have benefited from various schemes that have been put into place by the government over the past twelve months. He also said that many more families were likely to receive help through these initiatives over the course of this year.

In the meantime the Council of Mortgage Lenders has stated that its predictions set for 2010 with regards to arrears and repossessions may be a little gloomy given the low interest rate.

Michael Coogan from the Council of Mortgage Lenders said that the reduction in arrears and repossessions was down to a number of factors and people, stating: “The fact that mortgage arrears and possessions did not rise by as much as we feared in 2009 is testament to the effect of low interest rates and a great deal of concerted effort by lenders, government and the advice sector to help borrowers to address financial difficulties when they occur.”

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