Americans’ debt levels continue to climb to new heights at a time when economic conditions are becoming increasingly less stable. Household debt balances set a fresh record high of $17.05 trillion during the first quarter, growing $148 billion or 0.9% from the fourth quarter of last year, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Monday. That debt load has spiked by $2.9 trillion since the end of 2019.
The “refinancing boom” helped households’ financial positions, New York Fed researchers noted. During the pandemic, 14 million mortgages were refinanced, allowing for $430 billion of home equity to be extracted through cash-out refinances. About 64% of those actions were homeowners refinancing to a lower rate, which allowed for an average payment reduction of $220 per month, according to the researchers.
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