Housing News

Homeowners Gained an Average of $33,400 in Equity in the Last Year

With home prices continuing to rise nationwide, the financial benefits of owning a home keep increasing.

According to a new report from CoreLogic, homeowners with a mortgage saw their equity increase by an average of $33,400 per borrower from the first quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2021. Overall, borrowers saw their equity increase by $1.9 trillion in the last year.

That’s an increase over what was seen in the fourth quarter when homeowners with a mortgage saw their equity increase by a total of $1.5 trillion or an average of $26,300 per homeowner.

The amount of equity borrowers currently hold is a record high, according to CoreLogic Chief Economist Dr. Frank Nothaft.

“Double-digit home price growth in the past year has bolstered home equity to a record amount,” Nothaft said.

“The national CoreLogic Home Price Index recorded an 11.4% rise in the year through March 2021, leading to a $216,000 increase in the average amount of equity held by homeowners with a mortgage,” Nothaft continued. “This reduces the likelihood of large numbers of distressed sales from homeowners who emerge from forbearance later in the year.”

While the average borrower gained more than $33,000 in equity in the last year, borrowers in several states gained much more than that. The top 10 states where borrowers gained the most equity all saw increases of at least $49,000.

According to CoreLogic’s report, here are the 10 states with the largest increases in equity in the last year:

1. Idaho, where the average borrower gained $71,000 in equity
2. California, where the average borrower gained $70,000 in equity
3. Washington, where the average borrower gained $66,000 in equity
4. Hawaii, where the average borrower gained $55,000 in equity
5. Utah, where the average borrower gained $53,000 in equity
6. Rhode Island, where the average borrower gained $52,000 in equity
7. Arizona, where the average borrower gained $51,000 in equity
8. Montana, where the average borrower gained $50,000 in equity
9. New Hampshire, where the average borrower gained $49,000 in equity
10. Massachusetts, where the average borrower gained $49,000 in equity

Connecticut and Colorado just missed the cut, as borrowers in those states gained $48,000 and $47,000, respectively.