US homeowners are sitting on record housing wealth, and more of them are still putting homes on the market despite borrowing costs near 7%. New listings rose 0.9% from a year earlier in the week ending Sept. 19, while Realtor.com’s latest market update pointed to record equity as one factor helping some long-time owners overcome mortgage-rate lock-in.
Homeowner equity reached a record $35.8 trillion in the second quarter as owner-occupied real estate climbed to $49.8 trillion and mortgage debt reached $14 trillion. That cushion can give some sellers more flexibility to move, but it does not guarantee pricing power—or predict what an individual owner will walk away with at closing.
Why homeowner equity hit a record
Home values have grown much faster than mortgage debt over the past decade. Owner-occupied real estate is now worth more than double its mid-2016 value, while homeowners retain a 71.9% equity share. That marks the 13th consecutive quarter above 70%.
The record is not evenly distributed. Narrow the lens to homeowners with mortgages, and ICE estimates their equity reached a record $18 trillion in Q2. Of that, $11.7 trillion was considered tappable across 47.5 million borrowers, averaging about $212,000 each.
Tappable equity is a borrowing measure, not a seller’s expected proceeds. For a listing consultation, the more useful calculation is the likely sale price minus the mortgage payoff, liens, transaction costs, and other closing expenses.
Some owners have far less room. ICE estimates about 813,000 mortgage holders are underwater, up 44% from a year earlier, with negative equity concentrated among FHA and VA borrowers, people who purchased from 2022 through 2025, and owners in Texas and Florida. The trend echoes The Close’s recent look at rising underwater mortgages across the country.
What record equity gives sellers
A larger equity cushion can make the next move more workable, particularly for owners using sale proceeds for a bigger down payment. Freddie Mac’s average 30-year fixed mortgage rate reached 6.95% on Sept. 17, up from 6.26% a year earlier.
Higher borrowing costs can quickly eat into the benefit of bringing more cash to the next purchase. Agents working with move-up sellers should pair estimated net proceeds with a lender-prepared payment scenario rather than assuming equity alone makes the move affordable.
The pressure is especially relevant with mortgage rates near 7%, a level that continues to reshape buyer budgets and seller decisions.
Equity doesn’t guarantee seller leverage
Record homeowner wealth is arriving in a market where many buyers have more room to negotiate. Seller concessions appeared in 44.7% of sales tracked by Redfin in the three months ending Aug. 31, the highest August share in its records dating to 2020. Another 15.8% paired a concession with a price reduction.
Redfin separately estimates that sellers outnumbered buyers nationally by nearly 58% in August. Conditions vary sharply by metro, particularly in more buyer-friendly housing markets, but equity can give sellers room to negotiate without giving them room to ignore local pricing.
What to bring to a listing consultation
Before discussing whether record equity makes a move worthwhile, agents need numbers tied to the actual property and market:
- A recent CMA based on nearby closings
- A current mortgage payoff
- A seller net sheet that accounts for likely closing costs
- Local inventory, pending-sales, and days-on-market data
For sellers planning another purchase, add a lender-prepared payment scenario using current rates.
The $35.8 trillion record gives more homeowners room to consider a move, but it does not set the listing price. Local demand, the seller’s payoff, expected net proceeds, and the cost of the next home still determine whether that equity actually turns into a workable move.