Led by Mortgage Originations, Overall U.S. Household Debt Increased in Q4 2020, to $14.56 Trillion

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, overall household debt increased by $206 billion in Q4 of 2020 to $14.56 trillion. The primary driver was a dramatic increase in mortgage originations. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data said Wednesday (2/17/21), that mortgage debt balances broached the $10 trillion mark in Q4 2020, increasing $182 billion over the Q3 2020 total to $10.04 trillion at the end of December. The New York Fed also noted that some 7.2 million mortgages were refinanced in 2020, which, while spectacular, was still less than half the 2003 total of 15 million. In prepared remarks to accompany the report, Wilbert Van Der Klaauw, senior vice president at the New York Fed said, “2020 ended with a substantial increase in new extensions of credit, driven by record highs of new mortgages and auto loan originations. Notably, the overall median mortgage origination credit scores jumped up, reflecting a high share of refinances.”