A recent trend of consumers paying off their credit card bills before their mortgages is gaining steam, according to a study released by TransUnion

The phenomenon first appeared in early 2008. The reversal is representative of the change in conventional thought surrounding the payment hierarchy, or which debt consumers decide to pay off first.

Sean Reardon, the author of the study and a consultant in TransUnion's analytics and decisioning services business unit, commented on the traditional payment hierarchy, saying, “Conventional wisdom has always been that, when faced with a financial crisis, consumers will pay their secured obligations first, specifically their mortgages.”

However, the new study is proving the opposite. "Recent TransUnion analysis has found that increasingly more consumers are paying their credit cards before making mortgage payments” Reardon said. “This analysis reaffirms the results of a previous TransUnion study that examined data between the third quarter of 2006 and the first quarter of 2008.”

The study was conducted on consumers who had at least one credit card and one mortgage during a 30-day period between the second quarter of 2008 and the third quarter of 2009.

While experts thought this new trend would ease once the worst of the recession was over, it appears as if it has become increasingly popular. The percentage of those behind on their mortgage payments but current on credit card payments rose to 6.6% in the 2009 third quarter compared to 4.3 % in the 2008 first quarter.

The study found the new trend to be the most prevalent in the lowest scoring segment. During the 2007 fourth quarter, those in the lowest scoring segment who were delinquent on mortgage payments but current on their credit card was 19.1% and rose to 29% in the 2009 third quarter.

Why are consumers putting credit card debt before their mortgage?

“The implosion of the mortgage industry over the last 24 months, the resetting of adjustable-rate mortgages and the weak job market have all come together to redefine how consumers are managing their finances and meeting (or not meeting) their credit obligations," said Ezra Becker, director of consulting and strategy in TransUnion's financial services business unit in a statement.

In states such as California and Florida, where the housing bubble is more pronounced, rates of the flip have increased rapidly. California consumers delinquent on mortgage payments but current on credit card payments increased from 3.5% in 2007 third quarter to 10.2 % in the 2009 third quarter. In Florida, the same criteria increased from 5.1% to 12.4%.

"The insight gained through this analysis reveals a lot about changing consumer preferences,” said Becker. “The financial services industry must recognize and adjust to the payment hierarchy shift with judicious modifications to business models, new assessments of specific areas of risk, and by strategic revisions to acquisition and account management strategies.”

The source for the study was TransUnion’s Trend Data, a “proprietary historical database of 27 million anonymous consumer records randomly sampled every quarter from TransUnion's national consumer credit database.”