Home Equity Lines Run Late; Delinquencies Hit an 11-Year High

USA Today (07/03/08) P. 9A; Bahney, Anna
The number of borrowers more than 30 days behind on their home equity lines of credit hit the highest level seen in more than a decade, reports the American Bankers Association. The first-quarter data suggests that the economic pain being felt by homeowners is spilling over into a segment of consumer credit that usually is highly resilient in down cycles. That is because, at the risk of losing the roof over their heads, consumers who are financially pinched tend to pay their mortgages and home equity loans before car notes and credit cards, explains Naroff Economic Advisors President Joel Naroff. "That people are now having trouble making payments on home-equity lines is a clear sign of the extent of the pressure on the household budgets," he says.