by Omar Cruz | Aug 25, 2026 | Downsize, Equity, Move-up, Selling Tips
Author- Keeping Current Matters
When’s the last time someone told you what your house is worth? Not what some online valuation tool guessed. Not what your neighbor’s house sold for. What yours is actually worth right now.
For a lot of homeowners, it’s been years. And if you’ve been thinking about moving, but higher home prices or mortgage rates have made you hesitate, here’s why it’s time to take a second look at that number.
Your House May Be Worth More Than You Think
Home values have climbed significantly over the past 5-10 years. And even though today’s market is more balanced, homeowners are building wealth every day just by owning their homes. That’s how equity works. As home values rise, and as you make your monthly payments, your equity grows. And it adds up fast.
According to Cotality, the typical homeowner with a mortgage now has $310,500 in equity. That’s not a small number. It’s six figures.
And that’s only the national average. In many states, homeowners have built even more equity than that. Take a look at the map below and see where your state stands. The darker the blue, the more equity the typical homeowner has there (see map below):
Even though every local market is different, the question you should be asking right now is the same: How much equity have you built up?
Because if you don’t know that number, you’re missing out.
This Could Be the Missing Piece in Your Move
Most people assume that because prices are higher and rates aren’t at 3% anymore, moving just isn’t realistic right now, especially if they already have an ultra-low rate. And that’s understandable, those are real factors.
But they’re not the only factors.
When you have that much equity in your house, you’re not starting from scratch. You’re not scraping together a down payment or hoping the numbers work. You’re walking into your next move with more of an advantage than you think. And that changes the math.
What Your Equity Can Do for You
Maybe you’ve outgrown your current house or you’re ready to downsize… The equity you’ve built could help bridge the gap between where you are today and where you want to be next.
Yes, your next house may cost more than your last one did. But your equity could cover a big chunk of that difference. Depending on how much you’ve built, it could help you:
- Lower your monthly payment on your next home. The bigger your down payment on your next place, the less you have to borrow. And with today’s rates, borrowing less can make a big difference in what you pay every month.
- Buy your next house with all cash. This surprises a lot of people, but some homeowners have built enough equity to buy their next home outright, in cash. According to the National Association of Realtors, more than one-quarter (26%) of repeat buyers paid all cash for their home in July.
- Transform the home you already have. Love your neighborhood but not your floor plan? You don’t have to move. Your equity could help fund renovations that make your home fit your life today while potentially adding value for tomorrow.
Your equity doesn’t erase the challenges of the current market. But it does mean you’re walking into your next move with a lot more power and flexibility than you think.
That’s why the value of your home isn’t something you should have to wonder about.
If you’re even thinking about a move or if you’re just curious what your options might be the smartest thing you can do is get a Professional Equity Assessment. It’ll give you a real, market-based evaluation of what your house is really worth right now and how much equity you’re working with.
Because once you see the number, maybe it’s not about whether you can afford to move – it’s about what kind of move makes sense for you.
Bottom Line
If it’s been a while since you’ve gotten a professional look at your home’s value, it’s time to change that.
Reach out to a local real estate agent for a free, personalized Home Equity Assessment that estimates what your house could sell for, how much equity you’ve likely built, and what that could mean for your next move.
You may have six figures of equity without even realizing it. And that’s enough to change everything about your next move.
by Omar Cruz | Jul 30, 2026 | Equity, For Sellers, Inventory, Move-up, Selling Tips
Author: Keeping Current Matters
Remember how exciting it was to buy your first place? It felt like crossing a long-awaited finish line. It gave you a place to build your life. Maybe it’s where you lived when you got married. Or where you welcomed a child or a pet into the family.
But that was just the beginning.
For most people, your first house was never meant to be your forever home. It’s a stepping stone for what comes next.
And if your life looks different today than it did when you got the keys, you’re not stuck. Moving may be more realistic than you think.
Starter Home Inventory Is Still Relatively Low
If you’ve been wondering whether now is the right time to move up, here’s something worth knowing. Starter homes remain one of the hardest types of homes to find. And that’s good news if you’re thinking about selling your first place.
Historically, we haven’t been building enough homes for first-time buyers. And even though homebuilders have shifted more attention toward smaller, entry-level homes lately, the Census shows there’s a long way to go to rebuild supply (see graph below):
That means your current house is in demand and that’s a dream scenario for sellers. But that’s only half the story. You also need somewhere to go.
There Are More Move-Up Homes on the Market
Here’s where this gets interesting. While the supply of starter homes remains tight (the green line), data from Redfin shows that the number of homes for sale has been climbing overall (the blue line):
As Nadia Evangelou, Principal Economist and Director of Real Estate Research at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), explains:
“Too much of the inventory available today remains concentrated at higher price points, leaving a shortage of options for entry-level and middle-income buyers.”
That means you may have more choices for your move up than you’d expect. Whether you’re hoping for another bedroom, a home office, a bigger backyard, or simply more room for this next stage of life, today’s market may finally be giving you the chance to find it.
At the same time, your current house may be exactly what someone else has been looking for because homes like yours are still in short supply. That’s a unique advantage for move-up buyers. And it could help you sell for a stronger price. As Zillow says:
“Starter home value appreciation has outpaced other types of homes nationally, mostly because they’re so in demand.”
Your Biggest Advantage May Be Your Equity
Here’s the cherry on top. There’s one more thing your first home has been doing behind the scenes, and that’s building equity. Every mortgage payment you’ve made and every year your home’s value has grown has quietly increased your ownership stake in your house.
According to Cotality, the average homeowner with a mortgage has $295k in equity built up. While your number may be different, once you sell, it could become the down payment on your next home or help reduce the amount you need to borrow at today’s rates.
Put it all together, and your move up becomes a lot more realistic than you think:
- The house you’re selling is in demand.
- The house you’re buying may be easier to find.
- And the equity you’ve built can help bridge the gap between the two.
Your first home did exactly what it was supposed to do. It gave you a place to start.
Now, it may be the thing that helps you take the next step.
Bottom Line
Your first home was never meant to be your forever home. It was meant to help you build a life and build the financial foundation for whatever came next.
If your current home no longer fits the life you’re living today, connect with an agent. You may be closer to your next chapter than you realize.
by Omar Cruz | Dec 19, 2025 | Equity, For Sellers, Move-up
A lot of people are asking the same thing right now: “Is it even a good time to sell?” And the truth may come as a bit of a surprise…
For many homeowners, the answer is a strong yes.
Why? Because of one major factor working in your favor: your equity. Odds are, if you’ve lived in your home for a while, you know you have significant equity. But how much are we really talking about? The number might just change everything about your next move.
The Hidden Wealth of Homeownership
Here’s how it works. When you own a home, you build up something called equity.
Each time you make a mortgage payment, you’re chipping away at your loan balance. And that helps your ownership stake in your home grow. At the same time, home values typically rise, which drives up the overall value of your home.
When you put those two things together, you’re building wealth automatically, month after month, year after year.
And that combo can add up to real dollars that can make a real difference in your move. That’s especially true if you’ve lived in your house for a while, which many homeowners have. According to Realtor.com:
“Nearly half (45.2%) of today’s homeowners have lived in their home for more than 15 years, and 1 in 4 for over 25 years.”
If that’s you, just imagine what 15-25 years of payments + steady appreciation have done to your bottom line. It’s time you see how your equity stacks up over time.
What That Really Means in Dollars
This chart uses research coming out of Realtor.com to show an estimate of how much equity homeowners have built up depending on when they bought. For each time frame, it takes the median-priced home and uses it as the baseline example. The numbers are shocking, too. According to the study, if you bought the average-priced home in…
- The mid-90s? You could be sitting on over $400,000 in equity now.
- The early 2000s? You could have over $330,000, even with owning during the housing crash.
- In 2015? Even in that shorter 10-year time frame, many homeowners have already built nearly $285,000 in equity.
Of course, your actual number is going to vary based on the purchase price, any work you’ve done to the house, the size of your original down payment, and more. The point is…
A lot of homeowners are sitting on hundreds of thousands of dollars in equity without even realizing it.
Your Equity Could Power Your Next Move
Here’s where this becomes really important. That equity can offset nearly every concern you have about moving right now.
- Worried about taking on a higher mortgage rate? Your equity could cover a significant down payment. And the more money you put down, the less you need to finance at today’s rates.
- Unsure if you can compete in today’s market? Thanks to your equity, you may be able to buy your next house in cash. An all-cash offer is something that’s going to appeal to a lot of sellers because they don’t have to worry about their buyer’s financing falling through at the last second.
Bottom Line
If you haven’t had someone help you understand the value of your home this year, now’s the perfect time to take another look. It doesn’t mean you have to sell. But it does mean you’ll at least know what you could be working with – and how far that number can take you.
If you want a custom professional equity assessment, talk to a local agent.
by Omar Cruz | Nov 5, 2025 | Buying Tips, Downsize, First-Time Buyers, For Buyers, For Sellers, Mortgage Rates, Move-up
Mortgage rates have been the monster under the bed for a while. Every time they tick up, people flinch and say, “Maybe I’ll wait.” But here’s the twist. Waiting for that perfect 5-point-something rate could end up haunting your wallet later.
The Magic Number
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR):
“. . . a 30-year fixed rate mortgage of 6% would make the median-priced home affordable for about 5.5 million more households—including 1.6 million renters. If rates were to hit that magic number, it’s likely that about 10%—or 550,000—of those additional households would buy a home over the next 12 or 18 months.”
When the market hits that mortgage rate sweet spot, as expert forecasters are starting to say is more likely in 2026, the psychological shift to lower rates will kick in for more of today’s hopeful buyers. That will unleash some pent-up demand that’s been waiting on the sidelines, and the increase in activity will cause prices to rise.
And while a 5.99% rate might sound like a big win, if you’re waiting for that number to make your move, it might not actually save you as much as you think. Here’s how the math looks when you run the numbers (see chart below):
On a $400,000 mortgage, the difference between today’s rate (around 6.2%) and 5.99% is roughly $50 a month. That’s less than many people spend on weekly coffee runs or occasional DoorDash orders. And as prices tick up with more buyers in the market, that could quickly negate any of your potential savings.
So, if you’re waiting for 5.99%, that difference might not be worth missing out on today’s opportunities, like having more homes to choose from, better negotiation leverage with today’s sellers, and fewer buyers out there looking for the same houses.
Because the reality is, those benefits start to slip away when more buyers begin to make their moves – and a rate under 6% is exactly they’re waiting for.
Why Acting Now Makes Sense
Jessica Lautz, Deputy Chief Economist and VP of Research at NAR, says:
“Over the last 5 weeks, mortgage rates have averaged 6.31%. This has provided savvy buyers a sweet spot to reexamine the home search process with more inventory, widening their choices.”
And like Matt Vernon, Head of Retail Lending at Bank of America, notes:
“Rather than waiting it out for a rate that they like better, hopeful homebuyers should assess their personal financial situation—if the house is right for them, and the upfront and monthly payments are affordable, it could be the right chance to make a move.”
Bottom Line
If moving at today’s rate scares you, remember, waiting doesn’t always pay off. Once rates dip below 6%, as some experts project they’ll do next year, more buyers (and higher prices) will be back.
So, don’t be afraid of today’s mortgage rates. Because if you’re ready, this might just be your chance to make a move before the market wakes up again.
