Mortgage debt is at all-time high but that isn't the entire story. According to the Federal Reserve, there is currently about $14 trillion in mortgage debt in the United States. That is an all-time high which sounds scary but if you look at the big picture it isn't the horror that it could be. You also need to look at homeowner equity which is also near an all-time high meaning homeowners actually are still sitting on a pile of money even with the debt they owe. Keeping Current Matters just put together a great chart highlighting this issue. Look at equity versus debt and you see the big picture. You may hear a sound bite on the news about the debt but you now know how to keep it in context. If homeowners were to sell now and pay off their mortgage debt they would walk away with $20 trillion in profit. I see that as the real news. Homeownership builds wealth.
.
