Arrears and repos declined in the fourth quarter according to Council of Mortgage Lenders figures. Ten thousand, two hundred properties were repossessed, 13% fewer than in the third quarter, and 2% fewer than in the fourth quarter of 2008. 2009's figures, as a whole, were more encouraging than either the CML's start-of-the-year or most recent forecast. They were, however, considerably higher than in 2008 and, we might add, a 14-year high. Forty-six thousand homes were repossessed across the 12 months. The last time we saw that kind of repo-action was in 1995.

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