More than 23,200 people in Britain who took out 100% mortgages in the year to 31 March could face negative equity, according to figures obtained by the BBC.
Falling house prices mean the amount borrowed could be greater than the value of their properties.
The insurance company Axa has warned that 1.8 million people cannot pay their mortgages and more people are at risk of losing their homes than in 1992.
More than four fifths of homeowners have no insurance that would protect them from being repossessed if they become unemployed. Some 27,430 mortgage repossession orders were issued in the first three months of 2008 – the highest figure for 16 years and more than a fifth of British "subprime" mortgage holders are behind with their payments.
The data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders comes as figures show the housing market is slowing down further.
Separate housing figures suggest the number of transactions per estate agent has hit a 30-year low.
These figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) come as banks are imposing stricter requirements on borrowers, in the wake of the credit crisis.
(Source, BBC and Metro)
