Americans Take On More Mortgages As Housing Recovers

More Americans are buying houses and taking on mortgage debt at a time when higher home prices are also boosting their ownership stakes.

The trends, revealed in a Federal Reserve report Friday, reflect the healing of the U.S. housing market nearly a decade after the real estate bubble burst.

The Fed's quarterly report on household wealth showed that Americans' net worth climbed 1.2 percent during the April-June quarter, to $89.1 trillion. Stock and mutual fund portfolios increased 2.3 percent to $21.2 trillion. Housing wealth rose 1.9 percent to $25.6 trillion. The value of checking and savings accounts, as well as pension entitlements, also climbed.

Household wealth, or net worth, reflects the value of homes, stocks and other assets minus mortgages, credit card debt and other borrowing. The Fed's figures aren't adjusted for population growth or inflation.

Mortgage debt rose 2.5 percent in the second quarter at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, the biggest quarterly gain in more than eight years. The increase appeared to reflect rising home sales, which reached a nine-year high in June before slipping the following month. Higher sales mean that more people are taking on mortgages.

But it also reflects a return to a normal housing market. More purchases are being made by actual homeowners and fewer by investors, who frequently pay with cash. All-cash sales fell to their lowest level in nearly seven years in July.

Still, the increase in mortgage debt remains tame by historical standards. Mortgage debt jumped at double-digit rates in 2004 and 2005, toward the end of last decade's housing bubble. Americans were cashing out the equity in their homes while refinancing their mortgages and using the proceeds to support greater spending.

Home prices began to rebound in 2012, which has increased housing wealth. Ownership equity now equals 57.1 percent of the value of Americans' homes, the highest level since 2006. That figure had plunged as low as 36 percent during the Great Recession, which officially began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009.

The overall increase in household wealth documented by the Fed's report has likely been a boost to confidence. When Americans feel wealthier, they are likely to spend more, thereby providing a lift to the economy.

Awesome Projects Using Only 2 X 4s

1 Modern Bench

This bench from Modern Builds is an easy project that requires little more than
cutting the 2 x 4s down to size and using a good amount of glue and clamps.
After sealing and staining, you'll have a bench that can be used indoors or out
and will look like it cost you a lot more than it did.

Modern Bench

2 Sawhorses

Every workshop needs a pair of sawhorses and they don't get much easier to
build than this design. Each sawhorse consists of seven 2x4s cut to two different
lengths. You can use nails or screws to assemble the sawhorses and they can be
stacked for easy storage.

Sawhorses

3 Coffee Table

This DIY coffee table from A Beautiful Mess uses 2 x 4s stacked in a staggered
design. Hairpin legs lends a modern touch and a clear stain finishes off this
beautiful piece.

Coffee Table

4 Firepit Bench

These elegant fire pit benches from Ana White are made from 2x4s and 2x6s, technically,
but they were too gorgeous to not include. The table on top makes a great platform for
drinks and snacks and the storage underneath keeps bottles and bags out of the way.

Firepit Bench

5Giant Jenga

Store-bought tabletop Jenga is fun and frustration for people of all ages, but it's so... small. You can easily built set of giant Jenga pieces using 2x4s. Just make sure they are all exactly the same size and sanded down.

Giant Jenga

6Bar Stools

These beautiful bar stools from Jay Bates are built from 2x4s and assembled with lap joints. The finished look is sharper than most stools you'd find in any store, and with these you choose the height, dimensions, and stain.

Bar Stools

7 Settlers of Catan

Here's a DIY version of the popular board game Settlers of Catan that's built entirelyf from a single 8-foot 2 x 4—that includes the board tiles, game pieces, dice, robber, and everything else. The game cards are made from the wood and thin shavings.

Settlers of Catan board game

8 Wall Storage Shelves

You can never have enough storage, that's why these easy-to-build garage shelves are a no-brainer way to make use of vertical wall space.

Wall Storage Shelves

9Garage Storage Shelves

Here's another 2 x 4 storage solution. These garage shelves from DIY Design Fanatic are custom-built to fit storage boxes of the same size. This ensures that there is no wasted space and maximizes the number of boxes that can fit in the room.

Garage Storage Shelves

10

Plant Wall

Empress of Dirt designed a DIY plant wall made of 2 x 4s and burlap bags to hold the plants. It is secured against a wall, and once the plants mature you'll have a vertical green garden.

Plant Wall

11Floral Centerpiece

This floral centerpiece from Infarrantly Creative is made from a 2 x 4 frame with holes drilled into it to hold test tubes. These test tubes make great individual vases for all types of flowers.