Where Are Mortgage Delinquencies Rising the Most?

Haughwout, Andrew F.; Lee, Donghoon; Mangrum, Daniel; Scally, Joelle; Van der Klaauw, Wilbert

doi:10.59576/lse.20260210

Discussion Paper

Where Are Mortgage Delinquencies Rising the Most?

Abstract: The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data recently released its Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit for the fourth quarter of 2025, revealing continued growth in household debt balances. Aggregate household debt balances rose by $191 billion to reach $18.8 trillion, marking a $4.6 trillion increase since the end of 2019. Mortgage balances grew by $98 billion to $13.2 trillion, while credit card debt increased by $44 billion to $1.28 trillion. Credit card and auto loan delinquency rates appear to have stabilized, albeit at elevated rates. By contrast, the delinquency rate for mortgages—although still near low levels on a longer-term basis—has been steadily increasing over the past few years. Underlying these aggregate figures, however, there are notable differences in mortgage credit performance across places with different income levels and labor and housing market dynamics. This analysis, as well as the Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, are based on anonymous credit report data from Equifax.

JEL Classification: G52;

https://doi.org/10.59576/lse.20260210