WASHINGTON — 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 Wednesday from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Total U.S. household debt rose $92 billion, or 0.7 percent, 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.
Student debt, held by roughly 45 million borrowers, increased to $1.5 trillion. Newly issued auto loans totaled $159 billion, while the median credit score for this debt increased to 711, an 8-point jump from the second quarter.
