Hong Kong negative equity mortgages drop 17pc

The number of residential mortgages in negative equity – where a loan is bigger than the home's value - declined further to 31,449 at the end of the third quarter, official data shows.

Amid a recovery in home prices and a decline in high loan-to-value mortgages. The number of such loans fell 16.8 percent from 37,806 at the previous quarter's end, accounting for 6.4 percent of total mortgage borrowers, data from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority showed.

The aggregate value of these loans decreased by 17.6 percent to HK$156.8 billion. Additionally, the unsecured portion of debts dropped to HK$10.9 billion at the end of September, down by 23.8 percent from June.

Moreover, the HKMA reported that new mortgage applications in September edged down 1.1 percent month-on-month to 3,483.

STAFF REPORTER