Home equity products now account for 84 percent of all consumer loans, up from 56 percent a year ago, according to the latest snapshot of the market by an Atlanta consulting company.

Of the $5.7 billion in average outstanding consumer loans for the 32 commercial banks, bank holding companies and savings and loans which participated in the study, $4.8 billion is in either home equity lines or loans, according to BenchMark Consulting.

Home equity lines of credit are responsible for 59 percent of all consumer loan products at the respondent institutions, up from 45 percent in 2002.

Like the Energizer Bunny, Research Manager Penny Hayes reported at the recent Consumer Bankers Association's annual Home Equity Lending Conference at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort just outside of Phoenix, lines "just keep going and going and going."

Straight equity loans, on the other hand, fell in popularity, "retrenching" from 30 percent of the participants' portfolios last year to just 24 percent this year. Even at the lower figure, though, the popularity of equity loans far outpaces that of automobile loans, which now account for a mere 7 percent of all debt outstanding.

The study is the 17th by BenchMark Consulting for the CBA. But for the first time, it separates out 13 repeat participants, a step that Hayes says allows researchers to "get a better handle" on trends in the home equity sector.

However, the analyst admitted that the survey leaves many questions unanswered.

For example, there appears to be a marked upswing in the use of home equity products by seniors over the age of 65 and a corresponding decline in usage by homeowners in the 20-34 age bracket. But why that is the case was not asked.

Also, while 59 percent of all respondents' portfolios were the result of new bookings, portfolios actually grew only 30 percent because 29 percent of all accounts were closed during the survey period. But what can be done to minimize portfolio run-off was not discussed.

Presumably, most of the account closings were the result of refinancing into new first mortgages or the outright sale of the underlying property. To take either of those steps, second liens must be paid off.

But another study indicates that borrowers would prefer to keep their equity lines of credit in tact when they move or trade in their old loans. In other words, they want their loans "to go."

In the survey by Synergistics, also an Atlanta research firm, 2,000 borrowers were asked to rate the concept of portable equity credit products that could be transferred from one property or loan to another without having to reapply or requalify. Close to half liked the idea.

"These finding indicate that a 'portable' equity credit product has the potential to be a powerful weapon in the competitive equity credit marketplace," said Synergistics' William McCracken.

According to the BenchMark survey, meanwhile, the average size of outstanding credit lines increased for the second consecutive year -- from $29,000 in 2001 to $30,000 last year and again to $36,000 this year.

But the average size of home equity loans slipped this year to $37,000 from $40,000 in 2002. Still, it is higher than the $33,000 recorded two years ago.

Usage isn't what it was in the 1990s, when anywhere from 81 percent to 85 percent of credit lines were active. But at 77 percent, it is back up from the record low of 75 percent recorded in 2002.

At the same time, though, consumers are now tapping into only 49 percent of the credit available to them with their equity lines, down from 53 percent last year and 56 percent in the early '90s.

The study also found:

Published: December 3, 2003

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When Lew Sichelman first started writing about housing in 1969, he was the youngest real estate writer in the country. Now, 37 years later, he's one of the oldest -- and most decorated. He has been rated the top housing columnist in the country by the National Association of Realtors as well as by his peers in the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Indeed, NAREE has recognized his work on numerous occasions. One year - due to his advancing age, he can't recall which one - he earned top honors in the annual NAREE Journalism Contest in three out of the four major writing categories. It was the first time one writer has won so many NAREE awards in a single year. Known for his ability to make even the most difficult topics understandable, Sichelman also has been honored by the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association. He began providing in-depth coverage of and consumer-oriented information about housing and housing finance at the Washington Daily News, where he was real estate editor. He held that same position for nine more years at the Washington Star, which purchased the News in 1972. The Star, a so-called "writer's newspaper" which also had the misfortune of being an evening paper, was put out of its misery in 1981, and Sichelman, who had begun self-syndicating his column in 1978, decided to become a full-time columnist. Today, his column, "The Housing Scene," is distributed by United Media to newspapers throughout the country. He also is on the staff of National Mortgage News, an independent newspaper which is considered the bible of the mortgage business. And he writes for numerous other publications, including MarketWatch.com, where he answers readers questions once a week, Sports Illustrated (don't ask), RealtyTimes.com, BigBuilder and others. Sichelman is married, the father of five and grandfather of eleven.