CONSUMER INSTALLMENT CREDIT - Monthly Publication on Consumer Financial Behavior - May 1981

Sep 21, 2026

Monthly publication on consumer financial behavior for May 1981, focusing on consumer installment credit and housing market activity. It reports total consumer installment credit at end of February 1981, breaks out components such as automobile, revolving, mobile home, and other credit, and tracks net monthly and year-over-year changes by institutions. It also summarizes existing home sales, including resales volume, median sales price, and price growth, then continues with financial indicators tied to expectations, capital spending, mortgage rates, and income.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

CONSUMER INSTALLMENT CREDIT

BUSINESSMEN’S EXPECTATIONS

PLANS IN CAPITAL SPENDING

MORTGAGE RATES

PERSONAL INCOME

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE

PRODUCER PRICE INDEXES

Any or all the material in this publication may be quoted or reproduced. # CONSUMER INSTALLMENT CREDIT Total consumer installment credit at end February 1981 was $309.2billion.Of this amount $115.7 billion was outstanding in automobilecredit,$57.6 billion in revolving credit,$17.2 billion in mobile homecredit and $118.8 billion in all other credit (consisting of other consumergoods and personal loans). During February 1981,total installment credit outstanding decreased by $1.4 billion-automobile credit increased $0.4 billion.Revolving creditwas down $1.4 billion,as were mobile home credit($0.1 billion)and allother credit($0.3 billion). Net change over month by institution was decrease of $1.7 billion forcommercial banks.Finance company outstandings increased just under $1.0 billion,made up mostly of automobile credit.Credit at retailersdeclined $1.0 billion.Credit unions increased $0.2 billion,savings andloans were up $0.2 billion. Net decrease in installment credit outstanding since end of February1980 amounted to of $1.0 billion.Revolving credit increased $2.3 billion,mobile home credit $0.3 billion.Automobile credit declined $1.5 billion,all other credit down $2.1 billion. Over the year finance company increase was $8.5 billion,retailers $1.1billion,savings and loans $1.6 billion,gasoline companies $1.1 billion andmutual savings banks $0.2 billion.Commercial bank outstandings de-creased $11.3 billon and credit unions $2.2 billion. # EXISTING HOME SALES Steep decline in home sales came to a halt in February.However,salesof existing single-family homes were still at depressed level.Februaryresales were at seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2,560,000 units,justbelow rate reported for January and 22%below sales level of five monthsago. In February,median sales price of an existing single-family home dipped$400 to $64,100.Overall,home prices in February were 8.6%higher thansame month year ago when median priced home sold for $59,000. Increase in home prices during year was not enough to offiset decrease inunit sales,causing volume of activity to slide from $237.6 billion in 1979 to$209.7 bllion in 1980-drop of 11.7%.Between 1974 and 1979 salesadvanced from $81.3 billion to $237.6 billion-threefold gain over fiveyear period. # FINANCE FACTS A Monthly Publication on Consumer Financial Behavior MAY 1981 Consumer Installment Credit Selected Camponents(Seasonally Adjusted atAnrual Ratesl ## BUSINESSMEN’S EXPECTATIONS Business optimism lost some momentum in Dun &Bradstreet's latestsurvey of expectations of 1,393 executives.Confidence about sales andprofits for second quarter 1981 dipped slightly,it remained above lowprevailing in latter half of 1980.Shift in outlook appears to reflect thateconomy currently is fluctuating in a narrow range,neither strong norweak. Sales Optimism Index(percentage expecting increases minus percentageexpecting decreases)eased to 51 for second quarter from 55 registered infirst quarter.Still short of reading of 6l in second quarter 1980,index waslowest for any second quarter since 1975.Most of slump in confidence onsales prospects was concentrated among manufacturers of non-durablegoods.Durable goods makers and retailers shifted to slightly better views.Profits Optimism Index changed very little,off 2 points to 38 from 40. ## PLANS IN CAPITAL SPENDING U.S.nonfarm business plans to increase spending for new plant andequipment 10.2%in 1981,to $325.7 billion (data not adjusted for pricechanges),according to a survey conducted by Commerce Department.Spending was $295.6 billion in 1980,9.3%more than in 1979.Capitalgoods prices increased 9%in 1980,indicating little change in real invest-ment. ## MORTGAGE RATES Conventional home mortgage commitment rates increased in earlyMarch,sixth advance in the last seven months according to The FederalHome Loan Bank Board.In early March,average effective commitmentrate quoted by major lenders for conventional loans for purchase of new

FAQs

How much total consumer installment credit was outstanding at the end of February 1981?

Total consumer installment credit at end of February 1981 was $309.2 billion.

What happened to existing home sales in February?

A steep decline in home sales came to a halt in February, and resales of existing single-family homes were still at a depressed level.

What indicators were discussed in the May 1981 issue beyond credit and home sales?

The issue covers business expectations, plans in capital spending, mortgage rates, personal income, consumer confidence, and producer price indexes.

Sep 21, 2026

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