U.S. mortgage debt has been steadily climbing in the last few years, exceeding the 2008 peak.
A new record high was hit, first in 2018 and then again in 2019, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal, American Banker and Investopedia.
A Mortgage Banking Officer said debt was up 5 percent across the country from 2018 to 2019, but he said this isn’t something to be concerned about. He said it’s not like it was in 2008 when more people than normal were taking on debt. Instead, prices in the housing market are at a high right now, making loan amounts higher, and total debt soar.
The mortgage expert also said with unemployment being especially low right now, more people feel comfortable investing in a home.
“I think in ’08 you saw a lot more lenient guidelines. You know, people didn’t actually have to provide those paystubs, those tax returns, so a lot of different stuff in ’08 that burst that bubble, to 2019. It’s not comparing apples-to-apples, it’s two different markets,” explained Josh Blikre, Mortgage Banking Officer and Bismarck-Mandan Market Lead for American Bank Center.
Although, Blikre said mortgage debt in the Bismarck-Mandan area actually peaked back in the early 2010s and has leveled off over the last couple of years.
