Credit Karma (www.creditkarma.com), the consumer’s credit advocate, today released its U.S. Credit Score Climate Report with trend data for May 2011. Consumer credit card and mortgage spending slowed from a year ago, with the average credit card debt per consumer falling 15 percent to $6,470 and the average mortgage debt decreasing two percent to $172,957. Consumers in 13 states decreased their mortgage by more than the national average, including:
- Nevada and North Carolina – down seven percent
- Alabama – down six percent
- Florida and Michigan – down five percent
- California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Montana Ohio and Utah – down three percent
“As the housing market begins to double-dip and home prices plummet, it’s not surprising that homeowner debt and equity fell,” said Ken Lin, CEO of CreditKarma.com. “Banks aren’t going to enter into new housing loans or provide equity loans when home values continue to decrease.”
Credit scores fell three points nationally to 667 from May 2010 and the average consumer with an account:
- Increased auto loan debt two percent to $15,217
- Decreased home equity debt by five percent to $48,310
- Increased student loan debt five percent to $29,680
“While credit card debt is down, credit scores are also down 3 points,” says Lin. “Prolonged unemployment can drag scores down. The poor real estate situation puts additional pressure on credit scores as more consumers evaluate their undervalued property and the decision to keep it.”
Other key findings include:
- Consumers in California had the highest credit score amongst states at 685, while San Jose – San Francisco-Oakland residents topped the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) list at 702.
- Consumers in Alabama, Arizona, Kentucky Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and West Virginia have a credit score below 650, which is considered poor.
- Consumers in Colorado Springs, CO, Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA, Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA, Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla. and North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Fla. have the highest amount of credit card debt in the country at $7,000 or more.
Methodology
Each month, the CreditKarma.com U.S. Consumer Credit Score Climate Report compares the current credit scores of its user base with previous scores pulled at least 30 days prior and no more than 90 days prior to the stated month. This month’s report includes a comparison of more than 195,306 CreditKarma.com user scores.
About Credit Karma
CreditKarma.com is a completely free credit management service that enables consumers to put their credit to work for their overall financial health by providing them with customized savings recommendations. CreditKarma.com’s goal is to help its more than 2 million users realize the everyday cost savings of having a good credit score by providing free credit scores, as well as a range of tools to help consumers improve their financial situation. For more information, visit www.creditkarma.com.