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EnergyFewer borrowers in negative equity
Filed under: Mortgages
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The number of mortgage borrowers thought to be in negative equity has dropped by 13% over the last year and a half, lenders have said.Mortgage Advice & Info
It suggested the decrease may be partly down to some small improvements in house prices over the last year, although the market is still patchy and prices are below their peak levels across the country.
Land Registry sales figures for September showed last week that house prices recorded their strongest annual growth in almost two years, although much of the uplift was driven by London and the south.
Around 719,000 borrowers who took out deals from 2005 onwards are in negative equity, down from 827,000 in the first three months of 2011, said the CML. The proportion of first-time buyers who are in negative equity has also dropped, from more than a quarter (26%) to a fifth (20%).
Meanwhile, an estimated 26% of mortgages taken out in 2007 around the peak of the market are in negative equity, down from 29% 18 months ago.
At 35%, Northern Ireland has the highest proportion of mortgages advanced since 2005 that are in negative equity, reflecting the fact that house prices there are now less than half of their 2007 peak, the CML said in its latest "news and views" release.
By contrast, just 5% of mortgages advanced in the South East and 6% in London and the South West over the same period are in negative equity, which are areas where house prices tend to have held up better.
The downturn in the housing market has increased concerns for home owners who bought their property at the peak of the market and are now unable to move house because price falls have eroded the amount of mortgage-free cash they have in their home.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) estimates that up to 45% of borrowers who had taken out a deal since 2005 could now be 'mortgage prisoners' for a variety of reasons, including some people having credit problems and a drop in the availability of low-deposit and interest-only deals.
