A syndicated column by Susan Tompor

Flush real estate values for years meant that consumers could put little money down on a house, watch the home’s value grow and then treat that added equity just like a bonus.

But the credit crunch has landed with a thud. The days are over where practically anyone could turn the house into an ATM.

This piece of havoc in the housing market is national and isn’t just hitting people who borrowed way over their heads or are trying to sell the house.

We’re looking at a legitimate threat to the overall economy, as homeowners discover that they can’t bank on the house anymore to cover extra spending. Nationwide, consumers picked up roughly $800 billion from home equity in 2006, according to Equifax and Economy.com.

I’ve heard a fair share of horror stories during the past few months. A woman tapped into the equity of her house to unload credit card debt — now she’s looking at foreclosure. One couple saw a retirement strategy backfire. They downsized to a condo but still can’t sell their house. So they plan to work more, not less.

Sean Gurskey, 37, took out a $22,000 equity loan on his Woodhaven, Mich., home. He invested that money in a tanning salon that didn’t work out.

Gurskey, who has worked for 15 years at the Chrysler Trenton Engine plant, now owes about $245,000 on a house that’s worth less than the $265,000 he paid for it in 2003.

His monthly mortgage payment is $2,486 and set to climb in July when his adjustable rate goes up again. He’s having trouble refinancing into a fixed rate because the home’s value has dropped, he has that home-equity line and he filed for bankruptcy in 2005.

Rising home values meant everyone — even those who didn’t tap into home equity — could feel a little rich.

“The bubble that fueled a lot of consumer spending just isn’t there anymore,’’ said P. Brett Hammond, senior managing director and chief investment strategist for the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund, or TIAA-CREF, in New York.

Now, people think twice about spending as much on their homes.

Going forward, three things will cut into borrowing power:

• Home values are expected to continue to trend down. “The values are coming in lower and lower by the day,’’ said Steve Gornick, business development officer for Shore Bank in Detroit.

In some cases, he said, he has worked with homeowners who saw a 20 percent drop in the appraised value of a house in just six months in metro Detroit suburbs.

• Interest rates are no longer at rock bottom. Three years ago, the interest rate on a home-equity line of credit averaged 5.09 percent. Four years ago, consumers could find a rate as low as 4 percent. Now, the average is considerably higher, at 7.64 percent, according to Bankrate.com.

• Lenders are edgy.

“In markets where housing prices are weak, we want to keep people from owing more than the house is worth,’’ said Tom Kelly, a spokesman for Chase in Chicago. “Nobody wins if you make a loan that they can’t pay back.’’

Chase, Comerica Bank and other lenders already have slapped on tougher borrowing standards.

Take a homeowner in Michigan with a $150,000 house and a $120,000 mortgage.

A year ago, that homeowner could have gotten up to $30,000 in a home-equity line of credit or loan at Chase or Comerica.

Now, that homeowner would only be able to get up to $15,000 for a home-equity product, thanks to tighter lending standards.

Some experts warn that the housing slump will get worse in the next year to 18 months or so.

Zandi expects home values nationwide to decline 10 percent — with another 6 percent to go in the year ahead.

And that means it will be a long time before easy money will be on the house again.

Susan Tompor is the personal finance columnist for the Detroit Free Press. She can be reached at stompor@freepress.com.