Top-Tier US Consumers Hit by Credit Stress as 90-Day Delinquencies Surge

Mortgage and auto loans represent the highest percentages of delinquencies.

William Potter/Shutterstock

Credit delinquencies of more than 90 days jumped by 109 percent among superprime borrowers and by 47 percent among prime borrowers, according to an Aug. 25 VantageScore report.

“Consumers in the highest VantageScore credit tiers are showing increased signs of credit stress on a year-over-year basis,” Susan Fahy, executive vice president and chief digital officer at VantageScore, said in a statement.

Mortgages and auto loans represent the highest percentages of delinquencies with 0.11 points and 0.05 points, respectively. The report indicates that auto loans and mortgage balances also increased on a month-over-month basis. While originations held steady for mortgages, they declined for auto loans.

Auto loan originations fell to 1.42 percent in July, down from a peak of 1.76 percent in April. Mortgage originations remained flat from June to July but were 0.04 percent higher than in July 2024. The report indicates that the softening trends may be due to reduced demand along with more stringent lending policies.

“Balances are increasing for auto loans and mortgage, while new credit originations are down,” Fahy said. “Sustained inflation for car and house prices is driving higher balances in these credit categories.”

The report shows that the average VantageScore 4.0 credit score dropped by one point, to 701, reflecting a decline in consumers’ ability to keep up with payments. VantageScore’s subprime tier grew by 0.6 points, to 18.7 percent from 18.1 percent, between July 2023 and July 2025. Meanwhile, the VantageScore prime tier decreased by 1.4 percent over the same timeframe.

Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data issued its quarterly report on household debt and credit. It found that America’s household debt increased by $185 billion in the second quarter to $18.3 trillion.

Mortgage balances alone grew by $131 billion, to $12.94 trillion by the end of the quarter. Auto loan balances advanced by $13 billion from the first quarter, totaling $1.66 trillion by the end of June. Credit card debt, household expenses, and student loans made up the bulk of the country’s debt.

At the end of July, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that the national median mortgage payment stood at $2,172 in June—a decrease of $39 from May. The national median mortgage payment for Federal Housing Administration loans was listed as $1,881 in June—a decrease from $1,927 in May.

Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Rhode Island, and Utah were the top five states for mortgage applications. Louisiana, the District of Columbia, Connecticut, West Virginia, and Alaska had the fewest applications.

According to a June LendingTree report, the average auto loan payment for new cars was $745 per month at the end of the first quarter. That amount represented a 1.1 percent increase from the first quarter of 2024.

It also found that Americans borrowed $165.6 billion in new car loans in the first quarter of this year and that the average consumer is taking much longer to repay the loan. The average loan length for new cars is now 68.6 months and 67.2 months for used cars.