US Household Mortgage Balances (NY Fed)

## What this measures

Mortgage balances owed by US households at the end of each quarter, in trillions of dollars. The figure comes from the New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel, a nationally representative sample of Equifax credit reports.

## Why it matters

Mortgages are the largest line on the household balance sheet. The balance grows with home prices and new purchase lending, and flattens when turnover stalls.

## How to read it

Read the quarterly change rather than the level; the level rises most years with prices. Set it beside mortgage delinquency and new foreclosures to see whether the debt is being carried comfortably.

## What it does not say

It is a nominal stock of debt. It does not show the rates on those loans, who holds them, or how much equity sits behind them.

## Source

Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit (NY Fed Consumer Credit Panel / Equifax), data workbook Page 3. Palanor downloads the workbook each quarter; every release carries the full history from 2003, so revisions correct themselves.