Home improvement or repair remains the top reason for home equity lines of credit.

• Position: MARKETING NEWS - Brief article

AS THE HOUSING RECOVERY RAMPS UP, lenders are again marketing home equity lines of credit and second mortgages for those things that they are most often used for: home improvement or repair.

When asked to identify the purposes for which they have used their revolving line of credit, 50 percent of homeowners cited home improvement or repair, according to the recent Twelfth Annual Home Equity Lending Monitor compiled by Synergistics Research Corp., Atlanta.

These results are consistent with prior findings. One-third have used it for emergency expenses or used it in connection with their first mortgage to purchase their primary home. Debt consolidation is cited by three in ten. One-fourth have used an equity line to purchase an automobile, truck or van. One-eight or fewer have used it to purchase furniture or appliances; pay for education or tuition expenses; or finance the purchase of the primary home...