home equity

American  

[hohm ek-wi-tee] / ˈhoʊm ˈɛk wɪ ti /

noun

Personal Finance.

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of home equity

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Increases in service charge costs can also act as a barrier to staircasing, as they reduce the income available to fund greater home equity, the report found.

From BBC

Wealth measures a household’s assets, like stocks, bank accounts and home equity, minus liabilities like mortgages, car loans and credit-card debt.

From The Wall Street Journal

Thanks to a strong stock market, Hill’s household net worth, including home equity, has shot up to more than $2 million.

From MarketWatch

They can take out home equity lines of credit or rent out their homes to fund their living expenses without selling.

From The Wall Street Journal

For instance, Americans 70 to 74, who fall in the middle of the current boomer age range, have a median net worth of about $476,000, including home equity, MarketWatch previously reported — meaning half of the people in that group have a net worth that is lower.

From MarketWatch