By Catherine Reagor | The Arizona Republic
(Editor’s note: This is a follow-up report to Home equity lending at 5-year high.)
Higher housing prices have led to a spike in second mortgages taken out by metro Phoenix homeowners. Home equity loans jumped 60 percent in the Valley during the second quarter compared to the same period one year earlier, according to a new RealtyTrac survey released Thursday. That compares to a 21 percent increase in second mortgages nationally.
Phoenix ranks fifth in the U.S. for the biggest increase in the percentage of new home-equity loans issued to homeowners.