After years of struggling to shake off the stigma it earned from its part in the housing market downturn, it looks like mortgage lending might finally be repairing its image. A recent report from the New York Federal Reserve indicates that mortgages and home equity loans are experiencing lower delinquency rates than all other forms of consumer debt, compared to sharp increases in other delinquencies, particularly student loans.According to statistics provided by credit bureau TransUnion, the nationwide mortgage loan delinquency rate — that of a borrower more than 60 days overdue on a home loan payment — held steady at 3.29 percent by the end of the fourth quarter in 2014, indicating a rate decline of more than 14 percent within the last year. And while other types of debt, like credit cards and auto loans, continue to vacillate between high and low rates of delinquency, it was student loan delinquencies which increased through 2014. Outstanding student loan debt nationwide is now at $1.16 trillion, according to the New York Fed.
Source: Why are Americans Paying off their Mortgages, but not Student Loans? | GOBankingRates