American Household Debt Has Surpassed 2008 Levels

United States household debt has taken ten years to surpass the level of 2008, before the financial crisis let the credit bubble burst and average Americans were caught out in the open. The brunt of debt is in housing. In Q1 2017 housing debt, mainly mortgages, stood at $9.08 trillion. This is still slightly below the 2008 mark of $9.99 trillion in Q3 2008.

It’s the non-housing debt (e.g. autos, credit cards and student loans) that pushed the overall level to $12.73 trillion, exceeding the peak in 2008 of $12.68 trillion. The biggest share of non-housing debts are student loans, which make up 10.6 percent of the overall debt load, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

This chart shows U.S. household debt, housing and non-housing (in trillion of dollars):

Infographic: American Household Debt Has Surpassed 2008 Levels | Statista You will find more statistics at Statista

Voice for Real Estate: Debt Cancellation Relief, Credit Availability

In this latest “The Voice for Real Estate” video, NAR’s Director of Broadcasting looks at NAR’s victory on mortgage debt cancellation relief, and improving credit availability for more households.