A new study has found, perhaps not surprisingly, that consumers with mortgages have an average credit score that is 55 points higher than consumers without a mortgage.
The study, conducted by Experian Consumer Direct, which provides online direct-to-consumer credit reports, scores and monitoring, further found that consumers with second mortgages have an average credit score 81 points higher than consumers without a mortgage.
"Although consumers with mortgages have on average about five times more debt than those without, their average credit score is 713, compared to 658 for consumers without a mortgage," said Ty Taylor, president of Experian Consumer Direct.
The survey also found that with an average credit score of 739, consumers with second mortgages seem to be keeping their credit in check despite the additional financial responsibility."
The percentage of consumers with open second mortgages has increased 63% from 2001 (4.6%) to 2006 (7.5%). The average second mortgage balance in 2001 was $13,994 compared with $21,265 in 2006-an increase of nearly 52%.
More information on the study can be found at www.experianconsumerdirect.com.
