HK's mortgage loans in negative equity fall 30%

The number of residential mortgage loans in negative equity fell by almost 30 percent over the quarter ending June, the spokeswoman for Hong Kong Monetary Authority said Wednesday.

The total number of negative equity fell to about 28,200 cases with an aggregate value of 48 billion HK dollars (6.2 billion US dollars).

Announcing the results in its latest survey on residential mortgage loans Tuesday, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said the unsecured portion of these loans is estimated to be about 8 billion HK dollars (1.023 billion US dollars), down from 36 billion HK dollars (4.6 billion US dollars) a year previously.

The overall loan-to-value ratio on negative-equity loans fell to 121 percent from 125 percent at the end of March as a result of increased collateral values and continued reductions in outstanding balances due to loan repayments.

Reflecting the higher associated risks of loans in negative equity, the weighted average interest rate was 0.65 percent below the best lending rate, compared with 0.74 percent at the end of March.

Consistent with the improving economic conditions, the three-month delinquency ratio of negative equity of loans fell to 1.97 percent from 2.19 percent.

The number of negative equity was once 106,000 cases at its highest level.

Source: Xinhua