US household debt rises for 21st quarter

Americans increased their borrowing for the 21st straight quarter as more households took out loans to buy homes or refinance existing mortgages, according to a report released today from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Total US household debt rose $92 billion, or 0.7 per cent, to $13.95 trillion in the third quarter, the New York Fed’s quarterly household credit and debt report showed. That’s $1.3 trillion above the previous peak in 2008.

Mortgage borrowing rose by $31 billion to $9.44 trillion. Mortgage rates have fallen since the end of 2018, while the Fed reduced rates three times amid trade uncertainty and slowing global growth.


Donghoon Lee, research officer at the New York Fed, pointed to mortgage originations significantly increasing year-over-year.