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negative equity

British

noun

the state of holding a property the value of which is less than the amount of mortgage still unpaid

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Homeowners see negative equity in their homes as they owe more on their mortgage than the actual value of their home.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 7, 2025

One third of car owners owe debt of between $5,000 and $10,000, and almost one-quarter of trade-ins with negative equity carried more than $10,000 in debt, a new high.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 16, 2025

Postecoglou started with negative equity, which has already diminished, having never been a favoured appointment of the fans, but the 60-year-old feels victories will appease the doubters.

From BBC • Oct. 3, 2025

In February, 44.2 percent of new vehicles purchased had a trade-in, and 18 percent of those trade-ins had negative equity, meaning they owed more on the car than it was worth.

From Washington Post • Apr. 5, 2023

Yet the RBA estimates that only 0.5% of all home loans are in negative equity, a situation where the home loan exceeds the value of the property and could lead to increased defaults.

From Reuters • Mar. 30, 2023

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023