BIS Review 23/2004  1  Indeed, many homeowners have taken advantage of low interest rates to refinance their mortgages, some having done so several times over the past couple of years. Survey data suggest that homeowners took out cash in more than one-half of these “refis,” often to pay down loans with higher interest rates.
On net, the resulting drop in the average interest rate on household borrowings, combined with the lengthening maturity of their total debt, has tempered the monthly payment obligations from the growing stock of homeowners' outstanding debt. The Federal Reserve publishes two series that quantify the burden of household obligations.