The share of homes with mortgages worth more than the property's value increased at the end of last year as the housing market stalled and prices turned lower.

The rise suggests an increase in negative equity, where a mortgage can be worth more than the value of a house.

New home owners fared worse in data that compared property values and outstanding mortages. Credit:Erin Jonasson

Property information group RP Data said that 6.4 per cent of homes were valued at less than their purchase price in the December 2011 quarter, rising from 4.9 per cent of the market in the September quarter.

New home owners fared the worst in the report with those owning a home between one and two years, holding about 27 per cent of the total of properties affected in the December quarter. By comparison, only about one per cent of owners holding their property for between nine and ten years reported the same situation on their homes.