Home Owners Should Feel Twice as Rich

Thanks to rising home prices, home owners are getting richer, a new study says. The amount of homeowner equity has doubled in the last five years, according to CoreLogic’s latest Home Price Index and HPI Forecast for September 2016.

“Home equity wealth has doubled during the last five years to $13 trillion, largely because of the recovery in home prices,” says Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Nationwide during the past year, the average gain in housing wealth was about $11,000 per home owner, but with wide geographic variation.”

Home owners in several markets across California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and Utah are seeing some of the most growth, with double-digit home price gains.

Home owners nationwide likely are to see even more equity in the coming months, too.

“Home-price growth creates wealth for owners with home equity,” says Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “A 5 percent rise in home values over the next year would create another $1 trillion in home equity wealth for home owners.”

Source: CoreLogic and “Home Owners Twice as House Rich as Five Years Ago,” CNBC (Nov. 1, 2016)

“Copyright National Association of REALTORS®. Reprinted with permission.”