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A new survey by LendingTree found that almost 60% of Americans feel burdened by debt in 2020, with 12.4% most concerned about mortgage debt.
The report states that even though mortgage debt is the largest source of debt, people feel less burdened by it, as that type of debt is considered a “good debt” as it contributes to consumers’ financial future.
Fourteen-percent of all millennials surveyed is concerned over mortgage debt—the highest among the three generations polled. Thirteen-percent of Gen X’s surveyed were concerned about mortgage debt and just 10% of Baby Boomers were worried.
Credit card debt was the leading source of worry among those polled at 36.7%. Baby Boomers had the most concern over this segment at 44%. Twenty-nine percent of millennials were concerned about credit card debt.
A report by LearnBonds in January found that mortgage debt hit a new record of $15.8 trillion in Q3 2019. This is the highest amount since the 2008 economic crisis when it stood at $14.7 trillion.
The home mortgage sector rates showed a steady decline in recent years to hit a low of $13.3 trillion in the third quarter of 2013, and from the 2013 Q3, the debt has increased in a steady trajectory to hit the latest figures recorded in 2019. From the data, there was $401 billion in newly originated mortgage debt in 2018 Q4.
“Generally, the mortgage is among the largest component of household debt across the United States,” LearnBonds notes. “However, the mortgage rates have been low since the last quarter of 2018. The Federal Reserve Bank resorted to lowering the rates in the wake of trade uncertainty which affected the global economic growth.”
Additionally, debt-to-income (DTI) ratios are on the decline, loan-to-value (LTV) ratios are on the rise, and average credit scores for conventional conforming home loans ticked up as of Q3 2019, according to data from CoreLogic.
The average DTI for conventional conforming loans was 36% for Q3 2019, down one point from a year earlier. CoreLogic noted that this shift may be a result of a “relaxing of affordability pressures” as mortgage rates eased in 2019.
