Housing News

Historic Home Equity: A Boon for Homeowners

Homeowners have historically high amounts of equity in their properties.

About 47.7% of U.S. homeowners who are paying off mortgages were rated equity-rich in the fourth quarter of 2024, meaning they had at least 50% equity in their home. That data comes courtesy of a recent report from real estate data firm ATTOM.

Overall, 95% of homeowners have equity in their property, according to the report. This helps them to build wealth as they pay down their mortgage balances and home prices continue to rise.

This equity can be tapped if homeowners have an emergency, need the money to pay down debt, or want to fund home repairs among other things.

“Many [have] six-figure levels of wealth available to leverage anything from new home purchases to starting new businesses to paying off major expenses,” ATTOM CEO Rob Barber said in a statement.

He added that he expects the steady pace to continue into the high-buying spring season, “which will say a lot about whether the housing market keeps roaring ahead and boosts home equity even further.”

While the number of equity-rich homeowners was down slightly from 49.2% in the second quarter of 2024, it remained at historically high levels.

Homeowners in the Northeast and West Were the big home equity winners

The most equity-rich homeowners were in the most expensive states, concentrated in the Northeast and the West.

“[These areas] have the longest homeowner tenures around the country, commonly more than 10 years, so owners there are paying off mortgages and building equity over longer periods of time,” Barber said.

Homeowners in Vermont had the most equity, with 86.7% of those with mortgages owning at least half of their home outright.

The state’s Chittenden County, which is where Vermont’s largest city of Burlington is located, is 91.6% equity rich.

This is because many Vermonters stay in their homes for long stretches, allowing them to pay down their balances. Prices have also risen sharply, increasing by about 77% from January 2020 to January 2025, according to Realtor.com data.

“Many people here do not move often, especially with high interest rates,” said real estate broker Nancy Jenkins, whose eponymous brokerage is based in South Burlington, Vt. “We also have an older population that again tends not to move as much.”

The other most equity-rich states were New Hampshire, at 61.4%; Maine, at 61.1%; Rhode Island, at 60.8%; and Montana, at 60.1%.

“The faster median prices rise, the more home equity levels generally go up,” said Barber. “Higher prices increase property values, boosting homeowners’ equity as long as mortgage payments remain current.”

Not all homeowners saw their equity increase. The number of equity-rich homeowners dipped in Florida, followed by Utah; Arizona; Oregon; and Idaho year-over-year, according to ATTOM.