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40 THE CHANGING MAKEUP OF CONSUMER DEBT Mortgage debt makes up a noticeably smaller share of total consumer debt than it did a decade ago, according to the latest Equifax National Consumer Credit Trends Report, which covers data for March 2018. According to the Equifax report, mortgage debt now accounts for 71.2 percent of total consumer debt. at's down from 78.4 percent in 2008, which marked the previous peak in total debt. First mortgage write-offs—which Equifax defines as "loans terminated in severe derogatory status—made up 1.99 bps of outstanding balances in March 2018. at's the lowest level since early 2007, down from 2.56 bps a year ago. First mortgage write-offs, defined as loans terminated in severe derogatory status, are at 1.99 bps of outstanding balances in March 2018. is is the lowest level since early 2007, down from 2.56 bps a year ago. Equifax also notes that home-equity loan balances were down 68.9 percent as of March 2018, and accounts were down 63.2 percent. Over the past year, total aggregate Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) credit limits on outstanding lines fell from $935 billion in March 2017 to $914 billion in March 2018. Both HELOC loan balances and accounts have been steadily declining since peaking in 2007. e report reveals that the makeup of total debt has changed dramatically over the course of that decade. Credit cards have decreased as a percentage of total nonmortgage debt since 2008, dropping from 29.0 percent to 21.4 percent. Auto loans and leases have remained more or less flat as a percentage of total nonmortgage debt—32.8 percent in March 2018 vs. 32.1 percent in March 2008—but they have hit a new record for an outstanding total at $1.24 trillion. Student-loan debt, however, has demonstrated the most dramatic shift over the past decade. Student loans now account for 36.9 percent of total nonmortgage debt, up from 21.8 percent in 2008. Outstanding student-loan debt now totals $1.4 trillion. "Student-loan debt is not a bad thing when students actually receive a degree," said Amy Crews Cutts, Chief Economist, Equifax. "However, starting college and not finishing can leave a consumer's finances in distress, with generally nothing to show for it. Importantly, the $1.4 trillion in student loans reported to Equifax represents only loans still considered active—the Department of Education guarantees about $154 billion in defaulted loans on which it is still trying to collect that are no longer reported to credit bureaus." MORE MILLENNIAL HOMEBUYERS FORCED TO COMPROMISE Most millennials still believe in the American Dream of homeownership—77 percent want to someday own a home, according to a ValueInsured Modern Homebuyer Survey. However, those hopes and dreams sometimes face an uphill climb when it comes to the challenges of the modern housing market. ValueInsured's survey provides some insights into where millennial homebuyers are making concessions when it comes to purchasing a home—and why. As ValueInsured points out, millennial homebuying isn't matching that generation's aspirations in 2018, either in terms of homeownership rates or the homes they're purchasing. While nearly 80 percent of millennials report being interested in homeownership, the actual U.S. millennial homeownership rate is only 35.3 percent—"the lowest level since the U.S. Census began tracking homeownership by age groups in 1982." How many millennials report having to be flexible with their housing wish lists when it comes time to buy? Eighty-five percent, according to ValueInsured's survey, as compared to only 56 percent of homeowners in all other age groups. For baby boomers, the number is 34 percent, well under half the millennial rate. So, what form are those compromises coming in? Forty-one percent of surveyed millennial homebuyers report having to settle for a smaller home than they wanted in order to stick within their budget. Given the continued increase of home prices in many markets, that's not surprising. Forty percent report having to expand their search for a home beyond their target location, and 41 percent report having to sacrifice some desired features in order to make the buy, including air conditioning, fireplaces, or flooring options. irty-nine percent said their new homes came with less accompanying land than they would have liked. ere are definitely some instances of buyer's remorse in the mix, to one degree or another. Of those surveyed, 37 percent said they didn't like the style of home they eventually settled on. Eighty percent of those surveyed reported planning to move again within five years. A full 52 percent planned to move again within three.

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