Hong Kong Housing Slump Pushes Negative Equity to 18-Year High

(Bloomberg) — The number of people in Hong Kong whose homes are worth less than their mortgages surged to an 18-year high as the financial hub struggles with the worst housing slump in more than a decade.

There were 12,164 cases of so-called negative equity in the fourth quarter, according to data released by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. That’s 22 times higher than the previous quarter, according to mReferral Mortgage Brokerage Services. The combined value of these underwater mortgages was HK$66.3 billion ($8.5 billion).