Plunging house prices have forced 900,000 mortgage borrowers into negative equity, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said last night.
The figure is equivalent to 13 per cent of those who took out a mortgage between April 2005 and the end of last year.
Three in four have an average shortfall of between £6,000 and £8,000, but nearly a quarter of a million borrowers have a shortfall close to £20,000. A further 13,000 homeowners are in negative equity by £37,000.
Homeowners in the North are worst affected, with 70,000, or 9.2 per cent of owner-occupied homes in the region, now in negative equity.
The figure is equivalent to 13 per cent of those who took out a mortgage between April 2005 and the end of last year.
Three in four have an average shortfall of between £6,000 and £8,000, but nearly a quarter of a million borrowers have a shortfall close to £20,000. A further 13,000 homeowners are in negative equity by £37,000.
Homeowners in the North are worst affected, with 70,000, or 9.2 per cent of owner-occupied homes in the region, now in negative equity.