by Calculated Risk on 4/26/2007 12:20:00 PM

From the WSJ: Home Equity Stalls

After years of piling debt on their homes, Americans are becoming more cautious about using them as a piggy bank.
...
The amount borrowers owe on their home-equity lines of credit has slipped in the past six months, to $561 billion at the end of March, the first such decline since 1999, according to new data from Equifax Inc. and Moody's Economy.com Inc. Although that decline was partly offset by a pickup in fixed-rate home-equity loans, total home-equity borrowing rose just 9% in the 12 months through March, well below the 21% average annual growth rate of the past five years.

... the slowdown in home-equity borrowing is leading to weaker sales in some markets for autos, building materials and electronics ...

This is one of the keys going forward - the impact of less home equity extraction on consumer spending.