Smart Borrower Blog

Archive for May, 2014

Mortgage Delinquencies Fall for 9th Straight Quarter

The percentage of U.S. homeowners behind on their mortgages fell in the first quarter of this year, creating a nine quarter streak of declining delinquency rates, a sign that the mortgage market has shaped up since the housing bubble burst. The national mortgage delinquency rate – the percentage of borrowers who are 60 days or […]

U.S. Consumers Have Increased Auto Loan Debt for 3 Straight Years

Americans are taking on more car debt, as they have been consistently for the past three years, according to a new report from TransUnion, an encouraging sign that the auto loan industry has recovered from the Great Recession. The average amount of auto loan debt per borrower rose 4.1 percent in the first quarter of […]

Credit Card Debt and Delinquencies Decline in 2014 Q1

U.S. consumers held less credit card debt in the first quarter of 2014 that the previous year, while simultaneously making more timely payments, a development analysts assert is a sign of a stronger economy. According to credit collecting bureau TransUnion, the average debt per borrower fell to $5,164 in the 2014 first quarter, down from […]

After 5 Years, Home Purchase Mortgage Applications Finally Outpace Refinance Applications

Since the middle of the Great Recession, when mortgage rates fell dramatically and home sales tanked, Americans have applied for more refinance loans each week than for home-buying mortgages. Finally after five straight years, that streak has been broken. The Mortgage Bankers Association report that during the past week (the week ended May 2, 2014), […]