Total household debt in the United States grew by $147 billion to $17.9 trillion during the third quarter of 2024, according to a new Federal Reserve Bank of New York report.
“Although household balances continue to rise in nominal terms, growth in income has outpaced debt,” says Donghoon Lee, economic research advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. “Still, elevated delinquency rates reveal stress for many households, even amid some moderation in delinquency trends this quarter.”
Mortgage balances increased by $75 billion during the fourth quarter of 2024 from the previous quarter, reaching $12.59 trillion at the end of September.
Credit card balances jumped to slightly more than $1 trillion during 3Q 2024.
According to Federal Reserve Bank of New York officials, car loan balances “saw a $18 billion increase and stood at $1.64 trillion. Other balances, which include retail cards and other consumer loans, were effectively flat, with a $2 billion increase. Student loan balances grew by $21 billion and now stand at $1.61 trillion.”
In addition, aggregate delinquency rates “edged up from the previous quarter, with 3.5% of outstanding debt in some stage of delinquency. Delinquency transition rates were mixed. Credit card delinquency rates improved, with 8.8% of balances transitioning to delinquency compared to 9.1% in the previous quarter.
“Early delinquency transitions for auto loans and mortgages worsened slightly, rising by 0.2 and 0.3 percentage points, respectively. About 126,000 consumers had a bankruptcy notation added to their credit reports this quarter, a small decline from the previous quarter.”
