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The Impact of Housing Markets on Consumer Debt: Credit Report Evidence from 1999 to 2012
Author(s) -
BROWN META,
STEIN SARAH,
ZAFAR BASIT
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of money, credit and banking
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.763
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1538-4616
pISSN - 0022-2879
DOI - 10.1111/jmcb.12198
Subject(s) - home equity , debt , liberian dollar , monetary economics , equity (law) , business , financial system , credit card , economics , finance , payment , political science , law
We estimate the response of consumer debt portfolios to pronounced housing market swings from 1999 to 2012 using Equifax‐sourced credit report data and a variety of identification approaches. We find: (i) the extraordinary climb in home equity debt from 2002 to 2006 is an expression of a stable, longer‐term relationship between house price growth and home equity borrowing; (ii) all preboom homeowners, and older and prime postboom homeowners, demonstrate near dollar‐for‐dollar substitution between (expensive) credit card and (cheap) home equity debt in response to home equity changes; and (iii) little evidence of substitution between home equity and student loan debt.