GLOPRAGlobal Property Radar

US home equity hits record $17.5 trillion in third quarter 2026

US home equity reached a record $17.5 trillion in the third quarter of 2026, with $204,000 of tappable equity per borrower as fixed rates passed 7%.

The facts

  • Mortgage holders in the United States held $17.5 trillion of home equity in the third quarter of 2026, 1.4% more than a year earlier and a record third-quarter high on ICE's figures, according to the November 2026 ICE Mortgage Monitor.
  • Tappable equity, which leaves a 20% cushion in the property, averaged $204,000 per borrower, $16,600 above the year-earlier level. ICE also reports a 1.2% rise without stating the period it covers.
  • 2.4 million mortgage holders held at least $1 million of equity, up 6% year on year, and nearly 9 million held $500,000 or more, up 4%.
  • California accounted for 49% of the country's equity millionaires, followed by New York with 189,000, New Jersey with 141,000 and Florida with 104,000.
  • Adjustable-rate mortgages made up more than 10% of early-October rate locks as 30-year fixed rates moved above 7%. In recent weeks purchase loans were roughly 80% of locks and cash-out deals 1 in 7.
  • The points-adjusted spread between 5/1 adjustable-rate loans and 30-year fixed loans widened from roughly 75 basis points over the summer to more than 100 basis points in early October.

What it means for your money

  • Fixed US financing now runs above 7%. An adjustable loan saves over 100 basis points, but the rate resets.
  • An owner already holding US property has, on average, $204,000 of collateral for the next purchase, though drawing on it means borrowing at today's rates rather than the rate on the original loan.
  • Glopra's data puts the US average at $2,400 per square metre with annual growth of 2.2%, so the equity cushion reflects a long price run-up, while equity growth itself slowed to 1.4% over the past year.
  • Servicers kept 27% of refinancing borrowers, four percentage points fewer than in the previous quarter, and 30% on rate-and-term deals after a nine-point fall, so the lender holding the loan is no longer the default refinancing counterparty.

What to watch

  • The release prints no home price growth rate, no affordability measure, no inventory figure and no delinquency rate, so it says nothing about the direction of US prices.
  • Rate-lock and adjustable-rate figures cover early October and the weeks around it rather than a fixed calendar month, so they are not directly comparable with the quarterly equity data.
  • The Mortgage Monitor is monthly, and the December edition is the next reading on whether the adjustable-rate share stays above 10%.

Sources: ICE https://ir.theice.com/press/news-details/2026/ICE-Mortgage-Monitor-2-4-Million-Mortgage-Holders-Are-Equity-Millionaires-as-Q3-Home-Equity-Hits-Record-High/default.aspx

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