Second charge mortgage repossessions have fallen by 43.4% year-on-year, the Finance and Leasing Association has revealed.

There were just 128 properties taken into possession by FLA second charge mortgage providers in the first quarter of 2014, down from 226 in Q1 2013.

Geraldine Kilkelly, head of research and chief economist at the FLA, said: “The rate of repossessions in this market remains low at 0.049%, reinforcing lenders’ commitment to helping customers in financial difficulty and to taking repossession action only as a last resort.”

The number of possessions remains relatively unchanged from Q4 2013, when 123 were recorded.

Kilkelly added: “The forecast for 2014 as a whole suggests that repossessions will be at a similar level to 2013.”

In 2013 there were 676 repossessions in total, a far cry from 2008 and 2009 levels of 1,612 and 1,467 respectively.