Mr. William O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his latest estimate of the number of people trapped in negative housing equity; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. CurryEstimates of negative equity vary. Based on Department of the Environment house price data, in the third quarter of 1994 an estimated 644,310 households were affected by negative equity. This is a fall of almost 9 per cent. on the second quarter and is 47 per cent. lower than the peak in the fourth quarter of 1992.
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§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 22 November,Official Report, column 66, if he will provide a regional breakdown of households suffering negative equity and an estimate of the sums involved.
§ Mr. Robert B JonesAn estimate of the number of households affected by negative equity and the value of negative equity by region based on Department of the Environment house price data, is as follows:
Region Number of households (thousands) Value (millions) South East 346 -1713 Greater London 80 -248 South West 115 -376 East Anglia 51 -237 East Midlands 11 -16 West Midlands 11 -14 Wales 4 -3 Yorkshire and Humberside 17 -16 North West 7 -3 North 1 — Scotland — — Northern Ireland 1 -1 United Kingdom 644 -2,628