Aggregate household debt balances rose by $116 billion in the third quarter of 2017. As of September 30, 2017, total household indebtedness was $12.96 trillion. This increase put overall household debt $280 billion above its 2008 Q3 peak, and 16.2 percent above the 2013 Q2 trough.

Hooray! A New York Fed report on Household Debt and Credit shows household debt hit an all-time high in the third quarter of 2017.

Mortgage balances, the largest component of household debt, which stood at $8.47 trillion as of September 30, saw a $52 billion uptick from the second quarter of 2017.

Balances on home equity lines of credit (HELOC) were declined slightly, and now stand at $448 billion.

Household Debt Composition

Loan Types 

Mortgages by Credit Score 

Auto Loans by Credit Score 

Deflationary Setup

With stagnant real wages, how precisely is this debt supposed to be paid back?

Here’s a hint: It won’t.

This increase in unpayable debt is a very deflationary setup.