This is Mary Walden with economist MW, welcoming you to the economic perspective.  Today’s program looks at good news for homeowners.  Mike, people who have owed their homes for a long time remember the scary days of the Great Recession a decade ago, when home values fell and home bankruptcies soared.  Are the scary times gone?

• If recent data are an indication, then the answer is yes
• A key statistic for homeowners is their home equity
• Difference between value of home and what owner owes on the mortgage
• Last year home equity nationwide rose over $400 billion, or $5000 per owner
• Total home equity now sits at a record $6.3 trillion
• But what is amazing, homeowners took out less than 1% of that money
• Most experts say this is a result of a new frugality among homeowner, especially those who remember the Great Recession
• Something I actually predicted a decade ago
• I’m MW

And I’m Mary Walden for the Economic Perspective, an NC State Extension program from the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.