Total household debt increased by $334 billion, or 1.8%, in the third quarter to $19.1 trillion, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said today in its Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit.
Mortgage balances rose by $257 billion in Q3 and totaled $13.4 trillion at the end of September, the New York Fed said. Home equity lines of credit (HELOC) balances rose by $23 billion to $481 billion, the largest increase in HELOC balances observed since 2005. Credit card balances rose by $22 billion to $1.29 trillion, and auto loan balances increased by $21 billion to $1.73 trillion. Student loan balances edged up by $5 billion and stood at $1.66 trillion.
Aggregate delinquency rates worsened in Q3, with 5% of outstanding debt in some stage of delinquency, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous quarter. Transition into early delinquency continued to tick up for auto loans and mortgages but improved slightly for credit cards. Transition rates into serious delinquency slightly improved for credit cards and student loans, while those for auto loans and HELOCs remained flat. For mortgages, the transition rate into serious delinquency worsened but remains low by historical standards.
