U.S. household deleveraging may be at an end, as annual borrowing increased for the first time since the 2008 recession, reports the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

In a new report, the New York Fed indicates that outstanding household debt increased by US$241 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013, compared with the previous quarter, which represents the largest quarter over quarter increase since the third quarter of 2007.

“This quarter is the first time since before the Great Recession that household debt has increased over its year-ago levels suggesting that after a long period of deleveraging, households are borrowing again,” said Wilbert van der Klaauw, senior vice president and economist at the New York Fed.

The report, which is based on data from the New York Fed’s Consumer Credit Panel that’s drawn from anonymized Equifax credit data, notes that the fourth quarter increase in borrowing was led primarily by a 1.9% increase in mortgage debt (US$152 billion).

In Q4 2013 total household indebtedness increased to US$11.52 trillion, it says; which is up 2.1% from the previous quarter. Overall household debt remains 9.1% below the peak of US$12.68 trillion in Q3 2008.