Recently, some interesting debt-related statistics regarding Florida have come to light. According to a recent survey, last month, the average credit card balance in Florida was $6,442 and the average mortgage in Florida was $161,785. Reportedly, for both mortgages and credit card balances, this was a drop from the averages the state saw at the same time last year. Reportedly, in July of 2010, the average credit card balance in Florida was $7,726 and the average mortgage in the state was $174,309.
Thus, it appears that Florida has seen a fairly significant drop in average credit card balances and average mortgages in the past year. What is causing this trend? Perhaps this trend is being caused by consumers changing their behaviors regarding mortgage and credit card debt in reaction to the economic problems that the state and the country have experienced. It could be that these economic problems have led to consumers becoming more cautious when it comes to holding debt.
One wonders how long we will continue to see drops in average credit card balances and average mortgages in Florida and what short-term and long-term impacts these drops will have on Florida consumers and Florida’s economy.
It is worth noting that while average credit card balances and average mortgages went down in Florida over the past year, one type of debt reportedly did not. This type of debt is student loan debt. According to the Orlando Sentinel article which reported on the above-mentioned survey, this type of debt has actually gone up in Florida. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues in upcoming years.
Source: The Orlando Sentinel, “Fearful Floridians pay down mortgages, credit-card debt,” William E. Gibson, Aug. 17, 2011