$480 billion in home equity loans taken out by Americans since 2001

Forty-five percent of homeowners who refinanced between early 2001 and the first half of 2002 pulled cash out, and 74 percent wound up with more years on their mortgage - six more years, on average - according to the most recent Federal Reserve household survey. Just 17 percent of those who refinanced chose to shorten the loan term, usually choosing a 15-year mortgage.

Americans owed $766.2 billion on home equity loans and lines of credit in the second quarter of 2004 - more than twice as much as in 1998, according to the Fed. As a result, Americans own significantly less of their homes today than in recent decades. The average family owes about 45 percent of the value of their home, up from 32 percent in 1973, according to the Federal Reserve.

Average mortgage debt is expected to continue rising, in part because many first-time buyers are opting for interest-only loans. With these loans, they don't start paying on the loan principal for three to 10 years.