Equifax Shares its Global Consumer Credit Trends for the First Half of 2025

EQUIFAX HAS RELEASED ITS GLOBAL CONSUMER CREDIT TRENDS REPORT FOR THE FIRST HALF OF 2025, which features global consumer credit data and trends information from 10 different countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Spain and the United States.

The report, made possible by the Equifax Cloud™ and the organization's custom data fabric, is designed to give lenders around the world a deeper view into overall consumer credit demand, debt, delinquencies, credit card utilization rates and inflation trends in their particular region to make more informed decisions and innovate faster - enabling more mainstream financial opportunities for consumers.

HERE ARE THE TOP GLOBAL CONSUMER CREDIT TRENDS FOR THE FIRST HALF OF 2025:

In Australia, young buyers drove regional housing activity

First-time-home-buyer mortgage-seeking activity showed promising year-over-year growth, accelerating in the second quarter of 2025 with a ~9% increase. This surge is largely driven by younger buyers looking for affordable options.

Over half of all first-time home seekers in 2025 were under 35. Notably, the 18-25 age group saw 20% year-over-year growth, highlighting increased engagement from the youngest segment of buyers.

Younger buyers increasingly turned to more affordable regional areas and smaller capital cities for homeownership. Conversely, activity declined in expensive markets like Sydney and Melbourne, as price remains a key factor in their search for accessible options.

Delinquency levels stabilized in Canada but financial gaps continued to widen for some

Overall Delinquency Stabilizes but Remains High: The overall delinquency rate showed early signs of stabilization, with 7K fewer Canadians missing a payment quarter-over-quarter. However, the number of people missing payments was still 118K higher year-over-year.

Growing Financial Divide: A clear and widening gap exists between Canadians with and without mortgages. Non-mortgage holders struggled significantly more, with their missed payment rate nearly double that of mortgage holders. This gap has nearly doubled since 2019.

Financial Strain for Younger Generations: Gen-Z and late Millennials faced significant financial pressure, with their average non-mortgage debt rising and credit card and auto loan delinquency rates climbing by almost 20% year-over-year. In contrast, the broader population showed a slight improvement in delinquency rates quarter-over-quarter, highlighting a growing age-based divide.

Most delinquencies down, mixed signals in mortgage in the United States

Recent trends indicated a moderate U.S. labor market, with the pace of job creation slowing. Headline job growth is currently below the average three-month target of 150K, with approximately half of private industries experiencing little to no change in payrolls and the majority of new jobs concentrated in the healthcare sector.

The economic landscape also saw a shift in inflation dynamics, as headline inflation rose from the lows observed in the first quarter of 2025. Data on core goods prices suggests that the impact of new trade agreements and associated tariffs may be influencing price levels. At the beginning of 2025, businesses built up inventories and consumers accelerated purchases, but these trends appeared to subside in the second quarter of 2025, pointing to evolving economic conditions.

Fiscal changes drove consumer behavior in the UK housing market

The first quarter of 2025 delivered a significant swing in UK consumer behavior. Changes to property purchase taxation (Stamp Duty) prompted a "pull forward" of demand in March 2025, driving a temporary 49% month-over-month increase in mortgage originations, with a concentration in specific lending bands as buyers rushed to lock in lower tax rates.

Explore additional global credit and financial data insights here.