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M R EP O RT | 43 SERVICING THE LATEST O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T Americans Taking on More Mortgage Debt With total household debt approaching $14 trillion, here's how much of that is made up by mortgages. M ortgage debt has increased to $9.44 trillion according to the latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit from the New York Federal Reserve. Household debt in total increased by $92 billion (0.7%) to $13.95 trillion in Q 3 2019. This is the 21st consecu- tive quarter with an increase, and the total is now $1.3 trillion higher, in nominal terms, than the previous peak of $12.68 tril- lion in the third quarter of 2008. Mortgage balances—the largest component of household debt—rose by $31 billion in the third quarter to $9.44 trillion. Balances on home equity lines of credit (HELOC), which have been declining since 2009, fell by $3 billion this quarter, bringing the aggregate outstanding balance to $396 billion. "New credit extensions were strong in the third quarter of 2019, with auto loan originations reaching near-record highs and mortgage originations increasing significantly year-over-year," said Donghoon Lee, research officer at the New York Fed. "The data suggest that households are taking advantage of a low-interest rate environment to secure credit." Credit standards tightened slightly in the third quarter of 2019, with the median credit score of newly originating mortgage borrowers rising to 765, a 6-point increase from the previous quarter. The New York Fed also notes that flows into delinquency among mortgage loans were most- ly unchanged from the previous quarter, and foreclosures remain very low by historical standards. Approximately 65,000 individuals had a new foreclosure notation added to their credit reports between July 1- September 30, 2019. As of June 2018, CoreLogic notes that the national share of mortgages that were in some stage of delinquency was 4% in June 2019—a 0.3 percentage point de- cline, compared to last year's 4.3%. The share of mortgages that are delinquent more than 90 days fell from 1.2% to 0.9%, and the percent- age of mortgages that were more than 120 days delinquent dropped to 1% from 1.4% in June 2018.