First Mortgages Climb as Home Equity Loans Slip: Equifax

First mortgage originations climbed in February as home equity loans declined, according to Equifax.

The total balance of outstanding first mortgages in January grew 2.1% to $8.3 trillion, compared to the same time a year ago, according to Equifax's National Consumer Credit Trends Report.

At the same time, home equity installment loans fell 5.1% to $131.4 billion and home equity lines of credit were down 3.7% to $495 billion.

"With many home equity lines of credit hitting their recast into amortization we are seeing increased payoffs, reducing the debt and numbers of HELOCs outstanding," Amy Crews Cutts, Equifax chief economist, said in a Tuesday news release.

"About 20%-25% of HELOCs active a year prior to their recast anniversary will pay off and close within the year after date. Originations of new loans are not keeping pace with the payoffs."

The total number of existing first mortgages saw an uptick of 0.4% to 50.1 million in January on a year-over-year bases. The total number of HELOCs declined 3.2% and home equity installment loans fell 2.5% in the same period.

Equifax surveys more than 210 million consumers for its consumer credit trends report on population-level debt and lending, including originations, balances, and number of loans and delinquencies.