The Surprising Amount of Home Equity You’ve Gained over the Years

<article class="post-1188059 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry" id="post-1188059"><span class="entry-date">September 9, 2024</span><div class="entry-header center-block text-center"><h1 class="entry-title">The Surprising Amount of Home Equity You’ve Gained over the Years</h1><div class="shareBlock"><div class="shareTitle">Share</div><div class="shareIcons"><a aria-label="Twitter Share Link" class="twitter solid display-inline-block" data-tracking="Post,Social Post Link Clicked,Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/share?text=The+Surprising+Amount+of+Home+Equity+You%E2%80%99ve+Gained+over+the+Years&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fgilliggroup.com%2Fblog%2Fthe-surprising-amount-of-home-equity-youve-gained-over-the-years%2F" target="_blank"><span class="force-hidden">Twitter</span></a>
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</div></div><div class="post-tax post-category"><span></span><a href="../category/realtor-blog/index.html" rel="tag">Realtor Blog</a></div><div class="post-tax post-post_tag"></div></div><div class="entry-content"><div><img alt="The Surprising Amount of Home Equity You’ve Gained over the Years Simplifying The Market" decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://files.keepingcurrentmatters.com/KeepingCurrentMatters/content/images/20240904/20240909-The-Surprising-Amount-of-Home-Equity-You-ve-Gained-over-the-Years-original.png" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 5px; clear: both; max-width: 100%;" width=""/>
<p>There are a number of <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/09/03/should-you-sell-now-the-lifestyle-factors-that-could-tip-the-scale/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reasons</a> you may be thinking about <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/08/21/the-number-one-mistake-sellers-are-making-overpricing-their-house/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">selling</a> your house. And as you weigh your options, you may find you’re unsure how you’re going to deal with one thing about today’s <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/08/22/todays-biggest-housing-market-myths/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">housing market</a> – and that’s <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/08/13/is-affordability-starting-to-improve/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">affordability</a>. If that’s your biggest concern, understanding how much equity you have in your house could help make your <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/08/08/where-will-you-go-after-you-sell/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">decision</a> that much easier. Here are two key factors that have a big impact on your equity.</p>
<h4><strong>How Long You’ve Been in Your Home</strong></h4>
<p>First up is homeowner tenure. That’s how long homeowners live in a house, on average, before <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/07/30/the-biggest-mistakes-sellers-are-making-right-now/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">selling</a> or choosing to move. From 1985 to 2009, the average length of time homeowners stayed put was roughly six years. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/highlights-from-the-profile-of-home-buyers-and-sellers" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">according</a> to the <em>National Association of Realtors</em> (NAR), that number has been climbing. Now, the average tenure is 10 years (<em>see graph below</em>):</p>
<p><a href="https://files.keepingcurrentmatters.com/KeepingCurrentMatters/content/images/20240904/20240909-Today-s-Homeowners-Are-Staying-in-Their-Houses-for-an-Average-of-10-Years-original.png" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img alt="No Caption Received" decoding="async" src="https://files.keepingcurrentmatters.com/KeepingCurrentMatters/content/images/20240904/20240909-Today-s-Homeowners-Are-Staying-in-Their-Houses-for-an-Average-of-10-Years-original.png"/></a>Here’s why that’s such a big deal. You gain <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/07/26/unlocking-the-benefits-of-your-homes-equity/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">equity</a> as you pay down your home loan and as home prices climb. And when you combine all of your mortgage payments with how much <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/07/29/are-home-prices-going-to-come-down/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">prices</a> have gone up over the span of 10 years, that adds up. So, if you’ve lived in your house for a while now, you may be sitting on a pile of equity.</p>
<h4><strong>How Home Prices Appreciate over Time</strong></h4>
<p>To help show how much the price appreciation piece adds up, take a look at this <a href="https://www.fhfa.gov/DataTools/Tools/Pages/House-Price-Index-(HPI).aspx​ ​" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">data</a> from the <em>Federal Housing Finance Agency</em> (FHFA) (<em>see graph below</em>): </p>
<p><a href="https://files.keepingcurrentmatters.com/KeepingCurrentMatters/content/images/20240904/20240909-How-Home-Prices-Have-Grown-over-Time-original.png" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img alt="No Caption Received" decoding="async" src="https://files.keepingcurrentmatters.com/KeepingCurrentMatters/content/images/20240904/20240909-How-Home-Prices-Have-Grown-over-Time-original.png"/></a>Here’s what this means for you. While <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/08/28/2025-housing-market-forecasts-what-to-expect/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">home prices</a> vary by area, the typical homeowner who’s been in their house for five years saw it increase in value by nearly 60%. And the average homeowner who’s owned their home for 30 years saw it more than triple in value in that time.</p>
<p>Whether you’re looking to <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/09/02/could-a-55-community-be-right-for-you/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">downsize</a>, relocate to a dream destination, or move so you can live closer to friends or loved ones, your <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/07/03/homeowners-gained-28k-in-equity-over-the-past-year/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">equity</a> can be a game changer.</p>
<h3>Bottom Line</h3>
<p>Connect with a local real estate agent if you want to find out how much equity you’ve built up over the years and how you can use it to buy your next home.</p>
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