Shrinking mortgage balances helped U.S. households cut their debt
Shrinking mortgage balances helped U.S. households cut their debt
U.S. households pared their debt by 0.6 percent in the third quarter as mortgage balances shrank, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Bloomberg reported.
Consumer indebtedness fell by $60 billion from the end of June to $11.66 trillion on Sept. 30, according to a quarterly report on household debt and credit released today by the district bank. Mortgage balances declined by about $114 billion, or 1.3 percent.
“Households continue to try and deleverage in the wake of a challenging economic environment and large declines in home values,” Andrew Haughwout, vice president in the research and statistics group at the New York Fed, said in a statement.
“However, our findings also provide evidence that consumer credit demand continues to increase, a positive sign for consumer sentiment.”
Retail sales during Thanksgiving weekend climbed 16 percent, and shoppers spent $398.62 on average, up from $365.34 a year earlier, the National Retail Federation said yesterday, citing a survey from BIGresearch. Web sales on Black Friday surged 26 percent to $816 million and 18 percent to $479 million on Thanksgiving Day, said ComScore, a Reston, Va.-based research firm.
Consumer spending grew at a 2.3 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the fastest pace of 2011, the U.S. Commerce Department said last week.
The nation’s savings rate fell, according to the New York Fed report, and borrowings on home equity lines of credit increased by $14 billion, or 2.3 percent. Consumer indebtedness excluding mortgages and home-equity lines rose 1.3 percent to $2.62 trillion.
U.S. households pared their debt by 0.6 percent in the third quarter as mortgage balances shrank, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Bloomberg reported.
Consumer indebtedness fell by $60 billion from the end of June to $11.66 trillion on Sept. 30, according to a quarterly report on household debt and credit released today by the district bank. Mortgage balances declined by about $114 billion, or 1.3 percent.
“Households continue to try and deleverage in the wake of a challenging economic environment and large declines in home values,” Andrew Haughwout, vice president in the research and statistics group at the New York Fed, said in a statement.
“However, our findings also provide evidence that consumer credit demand continues to increase, a positive sign for consumer sentiment.”
Retail sales during Thanksgiving weekend climbed 16 percent, and shoppers spent $398.62 on average, up from $365.34 a year earlier, the National Retail Federation said yesterday, citing a survey from BIGresearch. Web sales on Black Friday surged 26 percent to $816 million and 18 percent to $479 million on Thanksgiving Day, said ComScore, a Reston, Va.-based research firm.
Consumer spending grew at a 2.3 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the fastest pace of 2011, the U.S. Commerce Department said last week.
The nation’s savings rate fell, according to the New York Fed report, and borrowings on home equity lines of credit increased by $14 billion, or 2.3 percent. Consumer indebtedness excluding mortgages and home-equity lines rose 1.3 percent to $2.62 trillion.
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