For Americans who have remained gainfully employed during the pandemic, more are taking advantage of low interest rates to borrow money to finance big-ticket luxury items.
The number of loans taken out to buy a boat jumped 355 percent from before the pandemic, while the increase was 257 percent for loans financing motorcycle purchases, according to a new analysis of data from Credible, an online marketplace for lending. The volume of loans for RVs climbed 181 percent in the months during the pandemic versus January to mid-March, the analysis found.
Overall, loan applications for discretionary spending are up more than 10 percent since the start of the pandemic.
Click here to read the full report from Stephanie Asymkos at Yahoo Money.
“The percentage growth of those more discretionary purchases has increased substantially,” said Rob Humann, Credible’s general manager, while noting these categories led by percentage change, but the overall number of loans for these purchases remain small. “Still, the predominant reason that people are taking out personal loans is to refinance their credit cards or to consolidate debt.”