{"id":7326,"date":"2025-11-11T03:00:52","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T11:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=7326"},"modified":"2025-11-12T08:26:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T16:26:13","slug":"what-is-home-equity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-home-equity\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Home Equity and How Can I Use Mine in 2026?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ever wonder how much of your home is really yours? Home equity is the share of your property you own outright, with the rest held by your mortgage lender. It grows as you pay down your loan<\/a> or if your home\u2019s market value<\/a> increases. Understanding what home equity is can open doors to financial opportunities.<\/p>\n

Even with elevated interest rates<\/a>, the U.S. housing market has experienced improving sales and rising property values<\/a>, allowing homeowners to enjoy substantial equity gains. With this, homeowners secure the power to use their stake in the home for other opportunities, such as loans, investments, or major purchases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n \"homelight\n <\/div>\n \n

What's your home worth today?<\/h3>\n

Tell us a little bit about your property and get a preliminary estimate of value in as little as two minutes.<\/p>\n \n

\n Enter Address<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

For example, a home equity loan<\/a> could fund a long-awaited vacation or your dream wedding. You could also tap into those funds for a basement remodel or to consolidate existing debts. Perhaps you\u2019re looking to buy a home<\/a> soon and want to know more about how to put your existing equity toward a new and spacious abode.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s quite a bit you should know about home equity, especially if you plan to borrow from it. Let\u2019s take a look at what home equity is, how it grows over time, and why it\u2019s so important to use it wisely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wondering what home equity is and how it helps when you need to borrow? Learn how your home\u2019s value can fund loans or big purchases.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":39151,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[771,343,322],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buying-a-house-while-selling","category-finances","category-logistics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is Home Equity and How Can I Use Mine in 2026?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Wondering what home equity is and how it helps when you need to borrow? Learn how your home\u2019s value can fund loans or big purchases.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-home-equity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is Home Equity and How Can I Use Mine in 2026?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Wondering what home equity is and how it helps when you need to borrow? Learn how your home\u2019s value can fund loans or big purchases.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-home-equity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HomeLight Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-11T11:00:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-12T16:26:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hl-blog.homelight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/what-is-home-equity.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"563\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Valerie Kalfrin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@valerie-kalfrin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Valerie Kalfrin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Is Home Equity and How Can I Use Mine in 2026?","description":"Wondering what home equity is and how it helps when you need to borrow? Learn how your home\u2019s value can fund loans or big purchases.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-home-equity\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Is Home Equity and How Can I Use Mine in 2026?","og_description":"Wondering what home equity is and how it helps when you need to borrow? Learn how your home\u2019s value can fund loans or big purchases.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-home-equity\/","og_site_name":"HomeLight Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/","article_published_time":"2025-11-11T11:00:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-12T16:26:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":563,"url":"https:\/\/hl-blog.homelight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/what-is-home-equity.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Valerie Kalfrin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@valerie-kalfrin","twitter_site":"@gohomelight","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Valerie Kalfrin","Est. reading time":"12 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-home-equity\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-home-equity\/"},"author":{"name":"Valerie Kalfrin","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/234e3147a305073d2c8cb21d61865465"},"headline":"What Is Home Equity and How Can I Use Mine in 2026?","datePublished":"2025-11-11T11:00:52+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-12T16:26:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-home-equity\/"},"wordCount":219,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-home-equity\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/what-is-home-equity.png","articleSection":["Buying a House While Selling","Finances & Tax Implications","Logistics"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-home-equity\/","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-home-equity\/","name":"What Is Home Equity and How Can I Use Mine in 2026?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-home-equity\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-home-equity\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/what-is-home-equity.png","datePublished":"2025-11-11T11:00:52+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-12T16:26:13+00:00","description":"Wondering what home equity is and how it helps when you need to borrow? Learn how your home\u2019s value can fund loans or big purchases.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-home-equity\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-home-equity\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-home-equity\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/what-is-home-equity.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/what-is-home-equity.png","width":1000,"height":563,"caption":"Source: (Alexander Wark \/ Unsplash)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-home-equity\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Is Home Equity and How Can I Use Mine in 2026?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/","name":"HomeLight Blog","description":"Real Estate Advice from America's Top Agents","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"HomeLight","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/logo-hr-color.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/logo-hr-color.png","width":1348,"height":262,"caption":"HomeLight"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/","https:\/\/x.com\/gohomelight","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/homelight\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCimugR9XF17-OZ7B9fNnxWw","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/HomeLight"],"description":"Everything you need to know to sell your house faster and for more money. Articles, guides, and advice from top agents all over the U.S.","email":"support@homelight.com","telephone":"(888) 688-0350","legalName":"HomeLight","foundingDate":"2012-01-01","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"201","maxValue":"500"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/234e3147a305073d2c8cb21d61865465","name":"Valerie Kalfrin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/86b69a0e8a73ca97e0cc84bf6294e479059bce7b41ed89cec2bbacf27469f4b6?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/86b69a0e8a73ca97e0cc84bf6294e479059bce7b41ed89cec2bbacf27469f4b6?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Valerie Kalfrin"},"description":"Valerie Kalfrin is a multiple award-winning journalist, film and fiction fan, and creative storyteller with a knack for detailed, engaging stories.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/valeriekalfrin\/","https:\/\/x.com\/valerie-kalfrin"],"url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/author\/valerie-kalfrin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}