Tag Archives: HELOCs

New data released on Tuesday has projected this year’s numbers for consumers opening new home equity lines of credit. Read on to find out what trends the data reports— and see what characteristics consumers who pursue HELOCs share.

In the first quarter of 2016, consumers appear to be demonstrating strong repayment practices, while taking advantage of continued low-rate environment, according to data from the April 2016 Equifax National Consumer Credit Trends Report.

As typical mortgage originations falter and fade to black and refinances continue to go untapped, lenders are gearing up for the next big thing among mortgage loans: home equity lines of credit (HELOCs).

"Despite the continuing rise in overall subprime originations, banks are still greatly limiting their high-risk exposure," Cutts said. "The credit score of the borrower at the 10th percentile of newly originated first mortgages today is 650. For HELOCs, it's 700."

Home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) originated during the housing bubble years of 2005 to 2007 have either reached or will soon reach their 10-year "end of draw" period, at which point borrowers will face a payment shock that may cause delinquency rates among HELOCs to rise substantially.

Since their 1.81 percent high in 2009, HELOC delinquencies are down to prerecession levels, the study shows. The percentage of HELOCs that are in late-stage delinquency, 90–180 days past due, are down to 0.5 percent which is a positive sign for the industry.