U.S. Accessible Home Equity Reaches Record $13.2 Trillion in Second Quarter of 2026, According to First American Data & Analytics’ Inaugural Accessible Home Equity & Mortgage Rate Lock-In Trends Report

Matt Key, Vice president of property data at First American Data & Analytics

“Understanding home equity across markets requires more than tracking home values alone”

Matt Key, Vice president of property data at First American Data & Analytics

“By connecting property and mortgage data, we can provide a more complete view of estimated equity availability and mortgage rate conditions, helping industry professionals understand how those factors vary across markets and where they may be able to help homeowners leverage their equity to solve challenges or enhance their residences.”

Genaro Villa, Senior economist at First American Data & Analytics

“Compiling this unique dataset creates a new lens into the scale of the mortgage rate lock-in effect at the national, state and market level. Many homeowners secured mortgages at record-low rates in 2020 and 2021 and saw their equity surge as home price appreciation soared during the pandemic-era housing boom”

Genaro Villa, Senior economist at First American Data & Analytics

“When prevailing mortgage rates subsequently increased, the share of accessible equity held by rate-locked homeowners exploded in just five quarters, from 18 percent in the first quarter of 2021 to 85 percent in the second quarter of 2022 and remains elevated at 88 percent in the latest quarter.”

Genaro Villa, Senior economist at First American Data & Analytics

“Approximately 83 percent of locked-in accessible equity remains in the extreme category, meaning it is held by homeowners whose mortgage rates are more than 150 basis points below the prevailing rate. For lenders, that concentration underscores the relevance of financing options that allow homeowners to access equity without replacing a low-rate first mortgage.”

Genaro Villa, Senior economist at First American Data & Analytics

“The combined low- and moderate-severity share rose from approximately 10 percent at the end of 2025 to 13 percent in the latest quarter, indicating that a slightly larger portion of locked-in equity is held by homeowners whose mortgage rates are closer to prevailing rates. For those homeowners, the rate tradeoff associated with cash-out refinancing may be less pronounced.”

Genaro Villa, Senior economist at First American Data & Analytics

“California markets occupied four of the top five spots in the ranking of locked-in accessible equity per property, with amounts ranging from approximately $437,000 to $899,000 per property. Because the measure ranks the dollar amount of locked-in equity per eligible property, California’s strong showing reflects the scale of accumulated equity in its high-value housing markets.”

Genaro Villa, Senior economist at First American Data & Analytics

“Most of the locked-in equity in these California markets fell into the extreme-severity category, while several Florida and New England metros had larger shares of their locked-in equity in the low- and moderate-severity categories. In those markets, more of the locked-in equity is associated with mortgage rates closer to prevailing rates, indicating less severe mortgage-rate lock-in.”