Home Equity Hit a Record $17.5 Trillion, and 2.4 Million Mortgage Holders Are Now Equity Millionaires
Key Takeaways Mortgage holders held a record third-quarter high of $17.5 trillion in home equity in Q3 2026, up 1.4% year over year, and 2.4 million of them held at least $1 million in equity, up 6%. Tappable equity rose 1.2% to an average of $204,000 per borrower, but cash-out refinances made up 75% of refinance-portfolio attrition as owners gave up low rates to reach that equity. The record is uneven: annual home price growth slowed to 1.0% in October, condo prices fell 1.2%, and the highest negative equity rates sit in Florida and Texas markets. America's homeowners have never held more equity in the third quarter of a year. ICE released its November 2026 Mortgage Monitor Report on November 9, and the headline is wealth, not sales. Mortgage holders collectively held $17.5 trillion in equity in Q3, a record third-quarter high. That sits oddly beside a sales market running near four million existing-home sales a year, a gap NAR's Lawrence Yun tied to pent-up demand and $35 tri...