More Oklahomans Seek Home-Equity Loans

New estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show Oklahomans are increasingly tapping their homes for a home-equity line of credit.

Saturday, December 20th 2008, 11:25 am

By: News On 6

Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY -- New estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show Oklahomans are increasingly tapping their homes for a home-equity line of credit.

An analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by The Oklahoman shows the number of Oklahoma homeowners with a home-equity loan rose by one-third since 2000.

Nearly 50,000 of the estimated 947,000 homeowners in Oklahoma had a home-equity loan from 2005 to 2007. The data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

The rate grew to 5.2% from 3.9% in the 2000 Census.

Despite the growth, the state ranked near the bottom nationally in 2007. Oklahoma trailed only Arkansas, Texas and Puerto Rico for the lowest proportion of homeowners with a home-equity loan.