A decade later, echoes of the financial crisis still linger in mortgage debt data, according to research released by the New York Fed on Tuesday.
The report found that states hit hardest by the Great Recession continue to have subdued mortgage balances relative to other states that avoided the turmoil.
Some states, like Texas, North Dakota and Delaware, have mortgage balances more than 10% above their previous peak. There are eight states with balances at least 10% below their earlier peak, including Florida, Arizona, Nevada and California, all severely affected during the Great Recession.
“The regional differences clearly show that the echoes of the financial crisis still linger,” said Donghoon Lee, research officer at the New York Fed.
The willingness for consumers to take on debt is seen as a sign of consumer confidence. Household debt is now 17.9% above the trough at the end of the Great Recession.
Overall mortgage debt increased $139 billion last quarter, the largest increase since the first quarter. It now stands at $8.9 trillion.
Mortgage debt remains 4.4% below the previous peak reached in the third quarter of 2008. Mortgages make up two-thirds of overall household debt.
In contrast, total household debt totaled a record $13.2 trillion in the fourth quarter, up 1.5% from the prior quarter. The data is not adjusted for inflation.
The data show that debt was growing faster in Republican states that voted for Donald Trump.
Read: Red states saw big rise in credit-card debt over the past five years
As of the end of the year, 4.7% of outstanding debt was in some stage of delinquency. Credit card delinquency has been increasing notably from last year and auto loan delinquency has risen slowly since 2012.
Only 1.3% of mortgage balances 90 or more days delinquent last quarter, the report said.
Student debt stood at $1.38 trillion at the end of the quarter. About 11% of student loans are delinquent or in default.
The New York Fed’s quarterly report is based on data from Equifax.