moneysupermarket.com: Homeowners facing negative equity

Commenting on the CML figures showing two million households have either negative equity, or too little equity, to finance a house move, Louise Cuming, head of mortgages at moneysupermarket.com, said: "Negative equity is a serious business, but unless you plan to move home in the very near future it is nothing to panic about.

"What is more worrying is that you don't need to be in negative equity to be ‘excluded' from the mortgage market. 40 per cent of moneysupermarket.com mortgage channel visitors tell us they only have a 10 per cent deposit or less, but just 5.6 per cent of mortgage products are available to them. And those that are available tend to be far more expensive than the deals offered to borrowers with larger deposits.

"Now is the time for anyone facing negative equity or with low equity in their home, to take positive action. The current low interest rate environment is an ideal opportunity to make overpayments and thus increase their equity."