Negative Equity at 14% for mortgages taken since 2005

A report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, CML, has stated that 14% of home loans, taken since 2005, are now in negative equity.
The total number of housholds in negative equity is 827,000, which equates to 8% of all mortgage holders.

Director-general at the CML, Paul Smee, said: “Negative equity is much less common than in the 1990s, and in the current cycle low interest rates and a relatively stable employment market are providing more options for borrowers and lenders in difficulty. There is no direct relationship between negative equity and mortgage payment problems. What typically causes difficulty for households is not a nominal fall in housing value but an unexpected change in personal circumstances, like the loss of a job or the breakdown of a family relationship.”