The number of mortgages in arrears continues to fall, according to new figures from the Central Bank.

The data show that a total of 117,889 mortgage accounts were in arrears at the end of the third quarter, equivalent to 15.5 per cent of all mortgages. This marks a decline of 6.4 per cent compared to the June to the second quarter and marks the fifth consecutive quarterly decline.

The latest figures show that while headline arrears numbers are declining and there has been progress made on moving troubled mortgage accounts into a restructuring arrangement, problems still remain.

The number of mortgage accounts in arrears for more than 90 days also continued to decline during the quarter. The figures indicate that there were 84,955 accounts in arrears of over 90 days, equivalent to 11.2 per cent of all mortgages. This is a 6 per cent decline on the previous quarter and marks the fourth consecutive quarterly decline.

Early arrears declined significantly during the period under review with a quarter-on-quarter fall of 7.6 per cent in the number of accounts in arrears of less than 90 days, which stood at 32,934 at end-September, or 4.3 per cent of the total stock.

A total of 109,911 mortgage accounts were categorised as restructured at the end of September. This reflects an increase of 7.8 per cent from the stock of restructured accounts reported at the end of June.

In value terms, the total in arrears over 90 days, plus those restructured stood at 29.3 per cent, up from 28.7 per cent in the second quarter. Both of these are at record highs.

Goodbody economist Dermot O’Leary said big questions remain about the appropriateness of the solutions being offered to householders experiencing difficulties.

“The Central Bank may wish to get more prescritpive about the solutions they would like to banks to implment, “he said.

The number of accounts in arrears for over 720 days is still rising however, with an additional 418 accounts. On a more positive note, the increase in accounts in arrears for more than 720 days was the lowest recorded to date. The total outstanding on such accounts was just over €8 billion at the end of September.

Buy-to-let mortgage accounts in arrears over 90 days fell by 0.4 per cent over the third quarter, following two consecutive quarterly increases. At the end of September there were 15,435 buy-to-let accounts in arrears over 720 days.

During the third quarter, legal proceedings were issued to enforce the debt/security on a mortgage in 2,514 cases. Court proceedings concluded in 712 cases during the period under reviews, and in 289 of these cases the courts granted an order for repossession or sale of the property.

The latest figures show there were 1,274 properties in the banks’ possession at the beginning of the quarter.