TransUnion said the surge in lending over the past year has caused the millennial generation to take over the boomer in total debt ownership as part of generational changes.
The credit reporting agency said total millennial debt rose 12.3 percent in the middle of the year compared to last year’s $ 515.9 billion, just above the $ 514.3 billion owed by the boomers but still behind the $ 767.4 billion held by Gen X.
Younger borrowers helped push overall consumer debt up 4.3 percent at the end of the second quarter compared to last year to $ 1.88 trillion, while debt held by the boomers declined.
The increased debt burden came even when lenders issued 8.9 percent fewer new mortgages in the first quarter, and 1.6 percent fewer car loans, even though the number of lines of credit rose by 13.9 percent.
Average mortgage debt rose 3.56 percent year-on-year to $ 269,274, while the average consumer balance on installment loans rose 7.38 percent to $ 34,168 because younger borrowers took more loans in that category.
TransUnion says low unemployment and stable interest rates have helped keep delinquency low even when debt rises, but economic risks slowing means borrowers must manage carefully going forward.
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