The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data has released its Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit for Q2 2024, revealing a $109 billion (0.6%) increase in total household debt to $17.80 trillion.
Mortgage balances saw the largest growth, rising by $77 billion to reach $12.52 trillion. Home equity lines of credit (HELOC) balances increased for the ninth consecutive quarter, growing by $4 billion to $380 billion. This represents a $63 billion increase from the series low in Q3 2021.
Credit card balances rose by $27 billion to $1.14 trillion, while auto loan balances increased by $10 billion to $1.63 trillion. Other balances, including retail cards and consumer loans, remained largely unchanged with a minimal $1 billion increase.
Mortgage originations continued their steady growth, reaching $374 billion. Credit card account limits saw a modest 1.4% increase of $69 billion, and HELOC limits rose for the ninth consecutive quarter.
Andrew Haughwout, Director of Household and Public Policy Research at the New York Fed, noted, “The volume of mortgage originations remained low, primarily due to subdued refinancing activity. Homeowners continued to increase HELOC balances as an alternative way to extract home equity.”
Delinquency rates held steady at 3.2% of outstanding debt, though slight increases were observed in transition rates for credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages. Over the past year, 9.1% of credit card balances and 8.0% of auto loan balances transitioned into delinquency.
Bankruptcy notations increased to 136,000 in Q2 2024, aligning with pre-pandemic seasonal trends.
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