New research from Boon Brokers surveyed 1,000 UK homebuyers who purchased a property using a mortgage within the last five years to understand how recent buyers perceive equity concerns amid current changing market conditions.

The study examined confidence in current property values, concerns about losing housing equity, and assessed how likely homeowners believe they could enter negative equity during their current mortgage term.

The findings revealed a growing disconnect between current confidence and future market expectations. While most homebuyers believe their property has increased in value since purchase, concerns about entering negative equity remain widespread.

91% of Recent Homebuyers Are Concerned About Losing Home Equity

Nine in ten (91%) recent homebuyers expressed some level of concern that changes in the housing market could reduce the equity in their home. Within this, almost half (47%) said they were either very or extremely concerned, while only 9% reported having no concerns at all.

While this statistic underlines an overall sentiment, the research also revealed that 44% of recent homebuyers believe they could enter negative equity during their current mortgage term.

This points towards public concerns surrounding negative equity has extended beyond general market uncertainty and could be influencing how many homeowners perceive their future financial position.

Together, these findings indicate that concern about housing equity extends well beyond a small group of homeowners. With only 9% of respondents reporting no concerns, the data points towards a common consumer fear that preserving housing equity has become a widespread concern among recent buyers.

56% of Young Buyers Fear Negative Equity

The research uncovered that concerns around negative equity differ considerably by age. More than half (56%) of buyers aged 25-34 believe they are likely to enter negative equity during their current mortgage term, compared with just 21% of buyers aged 55–64 and 15% of buyers aged 65 and over.

The results show a general decline in perceived risk as age increases. While 56% of buyers aged 25-34 believe they are likely to enter negative equity during their mortgage term, this falls to 51% among those aged 35-44, before dropping to 26% for buyers aged 45-54, 21% for those aged 55-64, and just 15% among buyers aged 65 and over.

A similar trend was reflected in the strength of concern expressed by respondents. Starting with one in five (20%) buyers aged 18-24 said they were extremely concerned that changes in the housing market could reduce the equity in their home. This compares with 13% of buyers aged 25-34, 14% of those aged 35-44, 9% of buyers aged 45-54, 3% of those aged 55-64 and 6% of respondents aged 65 and over.

The research did not explore the direct reasons behind these differences. However, the data indicates that younger homebuyers are considerably more worried as to the risks of negative equity than older homeowners.

Most London Homebuyers (51%) Fear Negative Equity

The data shows that concerns around negative equity also differ considerably by location. More than half (51%) of London respondents believed that entering negative equity is either very or fairly likely during their current mortgage term. This compares with 49% in Nottingham, 48% in Birmingham, 35% in Manchester and 27% in Leeds.

The wider findings also reinforce this trend. In London, 57% of respondents said they were either very or extremely concerned that changes in the housing market could reduce the equity in their home. This compared with 50% in Birmingham, 49% in Nottingham, 34% in Leeds and 30% in Manchester.

The data shows that this pattern is also reflected in the proportion of buyers reporting no concern about their housing equity. With just 5% of London respondents stating they were “not concerned” that changes in the housing market could reduce the equity in their home, compared with 6% in Manchester, 11% in Birmingham and 15% in both Leeds and Nottingham.

Together, these statistics demonstrate that perceptions of housing equity are not consistent across the UK’s major cities. The highest levels of concern were concentrated in the country’s higher-value housing markets, with London homebuyers consistently recording the highest perceived likelihood of entering negative equity alongside the highest levels of concern about losing housing equity.

33% Say Mortgage Repayments Are Their Biggest Concern

When asked to identify their single biggest concern about the current housing market, 33% of recent homebuyers selected higher mortgage repayments, making it the most common response.

Negative equity ranked second at 24%, followed by falling property values (14%), being unable to remortgage (11%) and difficulty selling a property (9%).

While higher mortgage repayments emerged as the single biggest concern, the findings show that worries surrounding housing equity are equally prominent.

When the two housing equity-related concerns – entering negative equity (24%) and falling property values (14%) – are considered together, they account for 38% of all responses. This exceeds the proportion of respondents who identified higher mortgage repayments (33%) as their single biggest housing market concern.

Taken together, the findings suggest recent homebuyers are balancing two closely connected risks. While higher mortgage repayments remain the most common individual concern, housing equity-related concerns collectively account for a larger proportion of responses.

58% Believe Their Property Has Increased in Value Since Purchase

Despite the research revealing widespread concerns about housing equity, a stark finding was that most recent homebuyers believe their property’s value has increased since purchase.

Overall, 58% of respondents said they believe that their property had increased in value, while 24% believed it had remained broadly unchanged and only 17% believed it had fallen.

How Homebuyers Think Their Property Value Has Changed Since Purchase (%)

These responses directly contrast with other findings from the survey. While 58% believe their property has increased in value, 91% expressed at least some concern that housing market changes could reduce the equity in their home, and 44% believe entering negative equity during their current mortgage term is likely.

Rather than moving in the same direction, perceptions of current property values and future housing equity appear to diverge. Only 17% of respondents believe their property’s value has fallen since purchase, yet concern about future housing equity remains widespread across recent homebuyers.

What These Findings Mean for Recent Homebuyers

This research highlights a clear contrast between how recent homebuyers perceive their property’s value today and how they view future housing equity.

Although most respondents believe their property has increased in value since purchase, concerns about losing housing equity and entering negative equity remain widespread.

The data recorded perceptions around negative equity are not shared equally across the market. Younger buyers and those living in high-cost areas such as London consistently reported higher levels of concern than older homeowners and respondents in several other UK cities.

At the same time, higher mortgage repayments emerged as the single biggest housing market concern, while concerns relating to housing equity collectively featured just as prominently within respondents’ answers.

The findings reveal that while confidence in current property values remains relatively strong, uncertainty about future housing equity continues to shape homeowner perceptions.

 Download the Full Results – Negative Equity Survey – Analysis – August 2026