WASHINGTON — Americans are buying more homes and at higher prices, yet new data show mortgage debt has changed little.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Thursday that outstanding U.S. mortgage debt slipped 0.7 percent in the April-June quarter to $8.12 trillion. That is up slightly from a year ago and about the same level as three years ago when the housing market bottomed.
The second quarter’s decline occurred even as Americans took out more new mortgages, either to refinance old loans or purchase homes. New mortgages totaled $466 billion in the second quarter, the most in almost two years.
Those trends suggest Americans are paying down mortgage debt at roughly the same pace as new loans are made, evidence that home owners remain wary of housing-related debt. Total mortgage debt peaked at $9.29 trillion in the third quarter of 2008.
