Homeowners tapped $47B equity in Q1 2026. What borrowers should know

Even as home price growth has slowed, the housing boom during the first half of the 2020s means many owners are sitting on substantial equity — and they appear willing to use it.

Homeowners tapped an estimated $47 billion in equity — the difference between their mortgage balance and the property’s market value — during the first three months of 2026, according to a new report from Intercontinental Exchange, a financial markets technology and data company. While down from $49 billion in the final quarter of 2025, the figure marks the highest first-quarter withdrawal figure since 2021.

Home equity lines of credit, or HELOCs, and home equity loans accounted for 54% of withdrawals in the quarter, and the remainder came from cash-out mortgage refinancing, the report shows. Nearly two-thirds of those second-lien borrowers have mortgages that were originated between 2020 and 2022, when average rates were in the 3% to 4% range.

“The housing market continues to be defined by the lock-in effect,” said Andy Walden, head of mortgage and housing market research at ICE, in the report.

“Millions of homeowners are sitting on first mortgages with rates well below current market levels, making second liens and HELOCs an attractive way to access equity without giving up those loans,” Walden said.

Rates on a standard 30-year fixed-rate mortgage currently are trending above 6.5%, according to Mortgage News Daily. After the low rates offered from 2020 through most of 2022, rates brushed 8% in October 2023 before trending downward.

The median price of an existing home in the U.S. was $429,300 in May, up 1.3% from $423,700 a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. However, that figure is about 50.8% above the May 2020 median price of $284,600.

The upshot is that there’s an estimated $11 trillion in home equity available to borrowers, according to ICE. And, experts say, accessing it for extra cash can be tempting.

However, “home equity is not free money,” said certified financial planner Joon Um, a tax advisor with Secure Tax & Accounting in Beverly Hills, California.

“With borrowing costs still relatively high, homeowners should make sure the purpose of the loan is strong enough to justify the cost,” Um said.

In other words, the reason for tapping the equity should make sense from a financial standpoint, experts said.

For example, if the funds are used for repairs or upgrades, “then the money is being spent on capital improvements for your home, which might make sense,” said CFP George Gagliardi, founder and financial advisor with Coromandel Wealth Strategies in Lexington, Massachusetts.

“If it is for vacations or other discretionary expenses, ask…