United States of Debt

Household debt jumped once again to $2.7 trillion, according to the New York Fed. "[T]he Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced that in the third quarter, non-real estate household debt jumped 2.3 percent to $2.7 trillion," reports the fed. "The increase was due to a boost in student loans ($42 billion), auto loans ($18 billion) and credit card balances ($2 billion)."

The numbers come from the Fed's Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit.

The worst news, it seems, is student loan debt. "Outstanding student loan debt now stands at $956 billion, an increase of $42 billion since last quarter. However, of the $42 billion, $23 billion is new debt while the remaining $19 billion is attributed to previously defaulted student loans that have been updated on credit reports this quarter. As a result, the percent of student loan balances 90+ days delinquent increased to 11 percent this quarter," reports the Fed.

The average student loan balance of debt is $24,000.

Auto loan debt is $768 billion, a four year high. "Auto loan balances increased for the sixth consecutive quarter," reports the Fed.

"The Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit is based on data from the New York Fed’s Consumer Credit Panel, a nationally representative random sample drawn from Equifax credit report data," reports the Fed. "During the third quarter of 2012, total consumer indebtedness shrank $74 billion to $11.31 trillion, a 0.7 percent decrease from the previous quarter.  The reduction in overall debt is attributed to a decrease in mortgage debt ($120 billion) and home equity lines of credit ($16 billion), despite mortgage originations increasing for a fourth consecutive quarter."

More key findings:

http://www.newyorkfed.org/images/v3/bulletpt_primary.gif); margin-left: 0px;">Mortgage debt at $8.03 trillion is at its lowest level since 2006.

http://www.newyorkfed.org/images/v3/bulletpt_primary.gif); margin-left: 0px;">Delinquency rates for mortgages decreased from 6.3 percent to 5.9 percent.

http://www.newyorkfed.org/images/v3/bulletpt_primary.gif); margin-left: 0px;">HELOC delinquency rates remain high by historical standards (4.9 percent).

http://www.newyorkfed.org/images/v3/bulletpt_primary.gif); margin-left: 0px;">New foreclosures are returning to their pre-crisis levels, as about 242,000 consumers had a new foreclosure added to their credit report, the lowest in nearly six years.

http://www.newyorkfed.org/images/v3/bulletpt_primary.gif); margin-left: 0px;">Mortgage originations, which we measure as the appearance of new mortgages on consumer credit reports, rose to $521 billion, the fourth consecutive quarterly increase.