ATLANTA, Nov. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Across the
country, consumers remain cautious about taking on new debt.
Overall consumer debt levels fell $256
billion in the third quarter versus the same period a year
ago, according to new Credit Trends data released by Equifax (NYSE:
EFX). However, the 2.28 percent year-over-year decline is the
slowest rate of decline since the second quarter of 2009, showing
that some of the caution may be starting to lift.
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)
U.S. consumers currently owe $11
trillion across all types of debt, with mortgage debt
accounting for a little more than three-quarters of that amount.
Mortgage debt fell 3.4 percent in the third quarter, compared to
the same period a year ago. Non-mortgage consumer debt actually
increased 0.7 percent.
The consumer debt trends look different for different parts of
the country. Among the largest 25 metro areas, total consumer debt
continued to decline in all but three markets versus the same time
a year ago. In Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, debt climbed 1.37
percent. In Pittsburgh, it
increased 1.05 percent. And in Dallas-Fort Worth, debt grew 0.08 percent.
The markets where debt declined at the fastest rates are also
some of the areas hit hardest by the housing bust and the
recession. The largest declines in consumer debt were in the
Las Vegas, Miami-Fort
Lauderdale, Sacramento-Yolo and Phoenix-Mesa
markets.
"Different parts of the country are at different stages of
economic recovery, and that is reflected in how consumers feel
about taking on more debt," said Trey
Loughran, president of the Personal Solutions unit at
Equifax. "We continue to see debt declining significantly in
certain markets, including those in California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona, where the housing bust was
particularly severe. The high number of foreclosures means
many consumers have reduced their debt involuntarily. Also,
consumers who are current on their debt are being more disciplined
in taking on new obligations and in how they manage the credit they
already have."
While debt levels for mortgages fell in all top 25 markets, the
declines were much more severe in Las
Vegas (9.6 percent), Miami-Fort
Lauderdale (8.8 percent) and Phoenix-Mesa
(7.6 percent) than in Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (.1 percent) and Dallas-Fort Worth (1.4 percent). Houston and Dallas had the smallest decreases in mortgage
debt among top 25 markets.
On the flip side, consumers are again taking on debt when it
comes to their vehicles. Across the country, auto bank and auto
finance debt rose 7.1 percent, compared with the same year ago.
Again, the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria consumers seem the most confident,
with 10.3 percent more auto debt than a year ago, the largest
increase among the top 25 metro areas. Minneapolis-St. Paul had the second biggest
increase, at 9.9 percent, while Dallas-Fort Worth came in third at 8.8
percent.
"Generally speaking, consumers are showing discipline and
caution about debt coming out of the recession," said Loughran.
"Even though people are taking on debt to get new automobiles, we
also know they are driving their cars longer. We expect the trend
of the 'disciplined consumer' to continue for some time."
Total
Consumer Debt for Top 25 MSAs
|
Q3,
2012
|
Top 25
Metropolitan Statistical Areas
|
Q3, 2011
(previous quarter)
|
Q3,
2012
(current quarter)
|
%
Change
|
1
|
New
York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island NY-NJ-CT-PA
|
$972,187,508,701
|
$950,390,476,272
|
-2.24%
|
2
|
Los
Angeles-Riverside-Orange County CA
|
$923,127,154,330
|
$876,777,948,629
|
-5.02%
|
3
|
Chicago-Gary-Kenosha IL-IN-WI
|
$392,986,974,643
|
$378,252,827,889
|
-3.75%
|
4
|
Washington-Baltimore DC-MD-VA-WV
|
$551,738,963,896
|
$542,886,249,132
|
-1.60%
|
5
|
San
Francisco-Oakland-San Jose CA
|
$542,008,298,176
|
$514,977,489,737
|
-4.99%
|
6
|
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City
PA-NJ-DE-MD
|
$264,345,717,521
|
$260,334,975,040
|
-1.52%
|
7
|
Dallas-Fort Worth TX
|
$195,640,515,315
|
$195,793,941,926
|
0.08%
|
8
|
Boston-Worcester-Lawrence MA-NH-ME-CT
|
$291,881,336,095
|
$284,989,371,789
|
-2.36%
|
9
|
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria TX
|
$164,752,492,898
|
$167,013,317,770
|
1.37%
|
10
|
Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint MI
|
$167,823,978,056
|
$161,806,190,287
|
-3.59%
|
11
|
Atlanta
GA
|
$216,711,371,051
|
$208,804,249,046
|
-3.65%
|
12
|
Miami-Fort
Lauderdale FL
|
$175,855,538,010
|
$163,918,607,735
|
-6.79%
|
13
|
Phoenix-Mesa AZ
|
$174,665,597,362
|
$164,331,381,275
|
-5.92%
|
14
|
Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton WA
|
$236,059,460,797
|
$229,060,353,233
|
-2.96%
|
15
|
Minneapolis-St. Paul MN-WI
|
$157,792,309,716
|
$154,697,245,196
|
-1.96%
|
16
|
San Diego
CA
|
$186,600,696,577
|
$178,533,592,078
|
-4.32%
|
17
|
Denver-Boulder-Greeley CO
|
$152,984,054,657
|
$149,338,147,626
|
-2.38%
|
18
|
Cleveland-Akron OH
|
$86,930,895,998
|
$85,502,702,476
|
-1.64%
|
19
|
Tampa-St.
Petersburg-Clearwater FL
|
$98,748,398,631
|
$94,740,985,812
|
-4.06%
|
20
|
St. Louis
MO-IL
|
$93,231,479,172
|
$92,026,532,171
|
-1.29%
|
21
|
Portland-Salem OR-WA
|
$119,846,270,373
|
$115,273,761,936
|
-3.82%
|
22
|
Pittsburgh
PA
|
$62,759,665,221
|
$63,416,402,792
|
1.05%
|
23
|
Las Vegas
NV-AZ
|
$82,772,429,569
|
$76,430,581,256
|
-7.66%
|
24
|
Sacramento-Yolo CA
|
$106,298,312,866
|
$99,803,116,769
|
-6.11%
|
25
|
Orlando
FL
|
$81,416,604,367
|
$77,311,738,464
|
-5.04%
|
26
|
All Other
Areas
|
$4,733,908,057,312
|
$4,690,970,988,076
|
-0.91%
|
|
Grand
Totals
|
$11,233,074,081,310
|
$10,977,383,174,412
|
-2.28%
|
About Equifax
Equifax Personal Solutions empowers consumers with the
confidence and control to be their financial best. Find out more
about Equifax's innovative suite of credit monitoring and identity
protection products at www.equifax.com. Get smart information on
everything from credit to retirement, all in one place at the
Equifax Finance Blog, blog.equifax.com.
Equifax is a global leader in consumer and commercial
information solutions, providing businesses of all sizes and
consumers with information they can trust. We organize and
assimilate data on more than 500 million consumers and 81 million
businesses worldwide, and use advanced analytics and proprietary
technology to create and deliver customized insights that enrich
both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers.
Headquartered in Atlanta,
Equifax operates or has investments in 18 countries and is a member
of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500® Index. Its common stock is
traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX.
For more information, please visit www.equifax.com.
SOURCE Equifax