New figures from real estate data company ATTOM reveal that the equity-rich portion of mortgaged homes , have slipped at the fastest pace in at least 4 years.
But why might home equity, in some cases, be falling? “If someone gets a home equity loan on top of their current mortgage, the amount of equity they have will fall by however much they borrowed with their new loan. Another instance where equity can fall is if the value of a person’s property declines,” says Jacob Channel, LendingTree’s senior economist.
Should you get a HELOC or home equity loan? Tapping into your home equity can be a good way to get access to cash to use for things like home improvement or consolidating higher interest debt. If you do need to tap into your home equity, the most common ways are via home equity loans and home equity lines of credit .