“Banks are definitely more eager to lend than they have been in several years,” said Joe Carson, director of global economic research at AllianceBernstein LP/USA in New York. Households in the upper half of the income distribution are already taking advantage of lower interest rates, as better job security and bolstered stock portfolios make them feel more comfortable about borrowing, Carson said. Falling unemployment will pull in even more households, he said.

Cuttino Alexander is among Americans willing to borrow more after becoming a pastor in Mount Holly, North Carolina, following his graduation from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago in May.

He and his wife Jessica put 3.5 percent down on a $215,000 five-bedroom, two-story home built in 1909, obtaining a 4 percent loan backed by the Federal Housing Administration, a federal agency that helps first-time and lower-income homebuyers obtain mortgages.

“We don’t feel like we’re crushed right now with debt,” said Alexander, 29, even though he still has student loans to pay back. “From our perspective as first-time homebuyers, it’s not going to get any better in terms of home prices and interest rates.”

A greater willingness to borrow bodes well for the sales -- and stock prices -- of businesses ranging from automakers to travel and consumer-technology companies, said Walter Todd, chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital Associates LLC in Greenwood, South Carolina. By contrast, there will be some losers as government spending drops, including companies like Cisco Systems Inc. and Oracle Corp. that supply computers, software and networks to businesses and the public sector, said Todd, who helps manage $950 million.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.3 percent to 1,767.55 at 9:35 a.m. in New York. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell two basis points, or 0.02 percent, to 2.60 percent.

The brightening consumer outlook marks a shift as households had taken a back seat in propelling the economic expansion that began in June 2009. In the five years leading up to the recession, consumer expenditures increased an average 0.5 percent a month, according to Commerce Department data. Since the recovery began, the monthly gains in spending have averaged 0.3 percent.

Third Quarter

Consumer spending rose last quarter at a 1.6 percent annualized rate, the weakest performance in two years, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg ahead of Commerce Department figures due Nov. 7. The economy probably grew at a 2 percent pace, down from 2.5 percent in the second quarter, the survey showed.

Not all agree that Americans are in a position to borrow and spend more. While debt levels have come down, they remain historically high, said Alison Williams, a senior financial- industry analyst for Bloomberg Industries in Skillman, New Jersey. Household debt as a share of personal income remains 15 percentage points above its 40-year average of 77 percent.