A large number of home owners are due for an unhappy surprise, according to Jyllands-Posten.

According to the reports, home prices across the country have never fallen as much between two national valuations.

Worst hit is Zealand, where a Tax Authority report suggests home prices and land values on average have fallen by a third, although there are fluctuations, with some people finding the value of their homes has dropped by 50 percent over two years.

“House prices have fallen twice as much during this crisis as under the last one. For many years about a third of the youngest home-owners have been technically insolvent. I expect there are more now. Not necessarily among the youngest, but among the older home owners. Some are due for a nasty surprise,” says Ass. Prof. Jens Lunde of the Copenhagen Business School.

Lunde adds that being mortgaged up to the hilt does not matter that much if a home owner isn’t planning to sell, or doesn’t need to borrow on a non-existent equity.