Negative Equity Crisis
More than 23,000 people who took out 100% mortgages at the peak of the property boom could be facing a negative equity crises. New research from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) says that for these homeowners, falling house prices mean that their mortgage on their home could be more than their home is worth
The figures released from the CML are only lightened by the fact that these type of mortgages only represent a very small section of the mortgage market, as they reflect just 2.5% of the total lent.
Negative equity means that the loan against the home is more than the property is worth. This only really becomes a problem when the owner wishes to move house or can no longer afford to repay their mortgage. New research shows that very few homeowners are planning to move home with the fewest transactions per estate agent since records began in 1978.
CML spokesperson, Sue Anderson adds that: “The housing market isn’t a homogenous whole – prices behave differently in different areas. And most people who bought in the past year probably won’t be looking to move yet anyway.”
