Accessible equity tops $13 trillion, a HELOC opening for brokers
A borrower just below the prevailing rate faces a different tradeoff than one who locked in 3% in 2020, so the report sorts the gap into four tiers. Of the locked-in equity, 83% sits in the most extreme one, with borrowers more than 150 basis points below the prevailing rate.
California homeowners stand out. Among the 100 most populous metro areas, the four with the most locked-in equity per property are all in the state, led by San Jose at $899,406, followed by San Francisco at $596,864, Los Angeles at $553,137 and San Diego at $513,563.
“It’s pretty heavy in California,” Kushi said. “There’s a lot of tappable equity there, but they’re also very rate locked in.”
Where the door opens
The lock-in is easing at the edges. Compared with a year earlier, locked-in equity in the lowest-severity tier rose 25%, while the extreme tier fell 4%.
Connecticut has the smallest locked-in share at 74.6%, followed by Massachusetts at 76.7% and Rhode Island at 77.7%. Kushi said the picture is different outside California.
