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According to GE Money's analysis, this even applies to homeowners who purchased a property with an average deposit on an interest only basis as recently as last year.

Meanwhile, those who bought in 2004 and paid the average deposit of £50,000 have experienced such high price rises in recent years that they have an equity buffer of 48 per cent.

Gerry Bell, head of mortgage marketing at GE Money Home Lending, said: "Over the past decade home ownership has delivered fantastic returns for many borrowers and we would need to see unprecedented falls in property prices for the average home owner to be severely impacted.

"Homeowners who purchased their property just four years ago for instance, even without a deposit, have an equity cushion of almost 50 per cent before the value of their home loan would exceed the property value."

The picture for the average borrower who purchased in 1995 is even more reassuring. Based purchasing the average home with a deposit of £50,000, prices would need to depreciate by almost three quarters (72 per cent) for the value of the property to be lower than the finance owed.

GE Money Home Lending adds that homeowners who bought property in 1999 (when the average home cost less than £100,000) would also need to experience 63 per cent depreciation to be in negative equity.

However, property owners in the North and Wales that purchased their property in 2000 have a greater cushion of equity than those in the South.

A homeowner from Wales who bought a property in 2000 would need prices to fall 53 per cent before experiencing negative equity. This compares with a 43 per cent drop in the South East.

But Londoners that purchased in 1995 are the most protected, as prices would need to fall 73 per cent before they experienced negative equity. This compares to 65 per cent in the North and West Midlands.