Home > News > Debt advice

Bachelors `forced to spend more` Finances `causing women sleepless nights` Christmas spending slowdown expected Christmas spending ‘will fall’ Credit cards: UK interest rates almost double US rates Recession ‘to last well into 2009’ Unemployment `on the up` AA urges public wholesale petrol prices Consumers ‘could expect to see full benefits’ of rate cuts Banks ‘increasing overdraft charges’ People in debt `should be helped to help themselves` Consumers `likely to be under pressure at Christmas` Britain "addicted to debt", politician states Consumers ‘repaying debt from last Christmas’ Brown: Banks must make loans available Workers `missing out on pension money` Christmas savings schemes `good way to stay debt free` `Many parents worry about children getting into debt` Falling inflation means interest rates could fall Petrol prices ‘could fall below 90p’

Negative equity should be viewed within "the broader picture"

04/07/2008

Homeowners fearing negative equity should look at the situation in the context of past price increases, an expert has said.

GE Money Home Lending has released figures showing negative equity should not be a great concern, as "equity cushions" were created when property prices hit record highs in the past few years.

An owner of an average London property bought in 1995, for example, would only experience negative equity if the price decreased by three quarters (72 per cent), according to the report.

Even houses bought with an average deposit as recently as last year are unlikely to see negative equity, as the analysis indicates a "cushion" is provided for a drop of up to a fifth.

Gerry Bell, head of mortgage marketing, GE Money Home Lending, urged homeowners "to look at the broader picture".

"Over the past decade homeownership has delivered fantastic returns for many borrowers and we would need to see unprecedented falls in property prices for the average home owner to be severely impacted," he said.

House prices have fallen by 6.3 per cent in the twelve months, according to information released by the Nationwide building society, but remain four per cent higher than two years ago.

Bachelors `forced to spend more` 17/11/2008 - People who live by themselves find it more difficult to Bankruptcy `increases by 7%` 17/11/2008 - The number of consumers in England and Wales facing bankruptcy Finances `causing women sleepless nights` 14/11/2008 - Financial concerns, potentially including debt problems, are causing women sleepless Christmas spending slowdown expected 13/11/2008 - Christmas spending is expected to stagnate this year, as consumers