“U.S homeowners with mortgages (roughly 63% of all the properties) have seen their equity increase by a total of $908.4 billion since the fourth quarter 2016, an increase of 12.2%, year over year.”
Price Appreciation = Good News for Homeowners
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Frank Nothaft, CoreLogic’s Chief Economist, explains:“Home-price growth has been the primary driver of home-equity wealth creation. The CoreLogic Home Price Index grew 6.2 percent during 2017. The largest calendar-year increase since 2013. Likewise, the average growth in home equity was more than $15,000 during 2017, the most in four years.”He also believes this is a great sign for the market in 2018, saying:
“Because wealth gains spur additional consumer purchases, the rise in home-equity wealth during 2017 should add more than $50 billion to U.S. consumption spending over the next two to three years.”
This is great news for homeowners! But, do they realize that their equity position has changed?
A study by Fannie Mae suggests that many homeowners are not aware that they have regained equity in their homes as their investment has increased in value. For example, their study showed that 23% of Americans still believe their home is in a negative equity position when, in actuality, CoreLogic’s report shows that only 4.9% of homes are in that position (down from 6.3% in Q4 2016). The study also revealed that only 37% of Americans believe that they have “significant equity” (greater than 20%) when in actuality, 83% do!
This means that 46% of Americans with a mortgage fail to realize the opportune situation they are in. With a sizeable equity position, many homeowners could easily move into a house (either larger or smaller) that better meets their current needs.
Fannie Mae spoke out on this issue in their report:
“Homeowners who underestimate their homes’ values not only underestimate their home equity, they also likely underestimate 1) how large a down payment they could make with their home equity, 2) their chances of qualifying for mortgages, and, therefore, 3) their opportunities for selling their current homes and for buying different homes.”
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This content last updated on September 22, 2026 9:26 PM UTC Some properties which appear for sale on this website may subsequently have sold or may no longer
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The content relating to real estate for sale on this web site comes in part from the IDX program of the RMLSTM of Portland, Oregon. Real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than BST Realty, LLC are marked with the RMLSTM logo, and detailed information about these properties includes the names of the listing brokers. Listing content is copyright © 2026 RMLSTM, Portland, Oregon.
This content last updated on September 22, 2026 8:55 PM UTC at 4 AM. Some properties which appear for sale on this web site may subsequently have sold or may no longer be available.
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