Mortgage Equity Withdrawal Still Strong in Q2; Homeowners now relying on Home Equity lines to extract equity

Today, in the Real Estate Newsletter: Mortgage Equity Withdrawal Still Strong in Q2

Excerpt: Here is the quarterly increase in mortgage debt from the Federal Reserve’s Financial Accounts of the United States – Z.1 (sometimes called the Flow of Funds report) released on Friday. In the mid ‘00s, there was a large increase in mortgage debt associated with the housing bubble.

In Q2 2022, mortgage debt increased $263 billion, the most since 2006. Note the almost 7 years of declining mortgage debt as distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales) wiped out a significant amount of debt.

However, some of this debt is being used to increase the housing stock (purchase new homes), so this isn’t all Mortgage Equity Withdrawal (MEW).There is much more in the article. You can subscribe at https://calculatedrisk.substack.com/ (All ad free, most content free).