The balance sheets of American households are generally in “good shape” as extra cash from a huge wave of home mortgage refinancing and decades-low interest rates have helped consumers manage their debt, U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said Monday.

Greenspan, in a speech to a credit union conference, pointed out that U.S. households own more than US$14 trillion in real estate assets — almost twice the amount they own in mutual funds and direct holdings of stocks.

“Over the past two years, significant increases in the value of real estate assets have, for some households, mitigated stock market losses and supported consumption,” Greenspan said in his speech.

Gauges the Fed uses to assess American household indebtedness “rose modestly over the 1990s,” Greenspan said. “During the past two years, however, both ratios have been essentially flat.”

The debt-service ratio measures the proportion of income that goes to pay interest and principal on debt. The Fed’s second measure, the general financial obligations ratio, includes other recurring household expenses, such as auto payments, homeowners insurance and property taxes.

“Overall, the household sector seems to be in good shape and much of the apparent increase in the household sector’s debt ratios over the past decade reflects factors that do not suggest increasing household financial stress,” Greenspan said.