Lines of credit secured by residential properties have seen increased production lately but still lag historical levels. The slower activity has put pressure on student loan originations.
In January and February, 130,200 home-equity lines of credit were originated by U.S. lenders. That worked out to an increase of more than 11 percent from the same two months in 2012.
During just February, there were $6.3 billion in new HELOCs originated. HELOC production increased from $6.1 billion in January.
Volume picked up from February 2012, when the total was $5.6 billion.
Equifax reported the findings Monday in its National Consumer Credit Trends Report.
Year-to-date HELOC volume was $12.4 billion, up from $10.7 billion generated in the first two months of last year.
The report indicated that student loan originations have accelerated because the parents of students have had less access to HELOCs.
“In the past, some students might have relied on their parents who would have funded tuition payments using home-equity lines of credit, but the small volume of home equity lending that is occurring today, at a little over $12 billion, is not sufficient to cover those costs,” Equifax Chief Economist Amy Crews Cutts said in the report.
Including other types of consumer lending, $141 billion in new credit was generated in January and February, “the highest balance for that time period in five-years, and an increase of more than 33 percent over recession lows of $94 billion originated during January-February 2010.”
