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Negative
equity affects many homeowners
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Industry
leaders said that the end of the lowering of house prices could
be in sight, with some saying that the price of houses fall
could be less then 10 percent before starting to rise again.
But, house prices have already fallen significantly over the
past year and a half, and this has left many homeowners facing
negative equity.
Those most likely to fall into negative equity are people that
purchased their homes within the last few years when prices
were at their highest, and who put down very little by way of
deposit. Negative equity is where the value of the home is lower
than the amount actually owed on the property, and the falling
house prices have plunged many people into this situation.
One research official said: The shift to negative equity
has the potential to be a mammoth welfare disaster for the nation.
The reality is that if there are further job cuts, the problem
will become significantly worse.
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors said: It has
highlighted an important point that negative equity has returned
and is getting worse. But when you make an assessment of negative
equity, you have to make significant assumptions. There is a
danger of people becoming obsessed with negative equity when
they are not planning to move. |
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