“People have learned that hey, (a mortgage payment is) a nonrecourse loan and not only that, I can stay in my house or my condominium for 12 to 18 months before they really get me out,” explained Harris.
“We’re seeing a huge amount of people paying down their credit cards, because they want to have those credit cards as rainy day money just in case they need them," he added.
The amount consumers owed on their credit cards dropped to its lowest level in eight years, according to credit-reporting agency TransUnion.
TransUnion also saidcredit card delinquencies in the second quarter fell by 21.3 percent year over year, while mortgage delinquencies rose 14.8 percent from the same period last year.
Both credit card and mortgage delinquencies, however, are down compared to the first quarter of 2010.