home equity

American

[hohm ek-wi-tee] / ˈhoʊm ˈɛk wɪ ti /

noun

Personal Finance.

the value of the portion of a person’s home that is free of debt, as mortgages, claims, liens, etc., and which the homeowner actually owns, calculated by subtracting the amount owed to lenders from the current market value of the home.

Home equity can increase or decrease significantly with fluctuations in the local real estate market.

Etymology

Origin of home equity

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In many metros, property owners with hefty piles of home equity and no reason to relocate are still sitting it out, giving buyers few options.

From Barron's • May 31, 2026

Home Depot has long cited a surge in home equity in recent years as a potential tailwind for home-improvement demand.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026

McPhail said homeowners are starting to tap more of their home equity but that those extractions are rising more for consumers with lower credit scores.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026

Last month — to their surprise and seemingly in a flash — Edwards and his wife’s net worth hit $1 million, with home equity accounting for just one-fourth of it.

From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026

“Sure did. Fetched a pretty penny for it, too. God bless home equity and hipsters lookin’ to ‘revitalize’ or whatever the heck they’re calling it.”

From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023