Our read is yes: the headline mortgage-debt figures include junior liens, so a 20-year fixed second mortgage would be counted. Aggregate household-debt series, such as the New York Fed's Household Debt and Credit report and the Federal Reserve's Financial Accounts, generally roll first mortgages and home equity borrowing together as home-secured debt, though some breakouts separate revolving HELOCs from closed-end junior liens. A 20-year fixed second that is technically a home equity loan rather than a HELOC falls in that closed-end junior bucket. We will be straight that this is our read rather than something we would stake a lot on, because the answer depends on which data series you are looking at. If the exact composition matters for what you are trying to figure out, go to the source series and read its own definition of what counts, rather than trusting a summary headline. The methodology notes will tell you precisely whether closed-end seconds, HELOCs, and first liens are combined or reported separately. That is the reliable way to answer it for the specific number you are citing.