Lots of folks are wondering the same thing these days: "Is now a good time to sell?" The answer might surprise you...
For a lot of homeowners, the short answer is a definite yes.
Because of one big advantage—you’ve likely built up equity in your home. If you’ve owned it for a while, chances are that equity is substantial. The real question is how much—and that number could completely change your next move.
The Hidden Wealth of Homeownership
When you own a home, you start to build something called equity — that’s the portion of the property you actually own outright.
Every mortgage payment reduces what you owe, which increases your ownership in the home. Meanwhile, as home values usually go up over time, the overall value of your property tends to grow too.
When you combine those two, you start building wealth automatically—month after month, year after year.
And those two together can translate into serious cash that really helps with your move — especially if you’ve lived in your home for years, as many people 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.”
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If that sounds like you, think about how 15–25 years of payments plus steady home appreciation have boosted your net worth. It's time to see how your equity has built up over the years.
What That Really Means in Dollars
This chart is based on Realtor.com research and estimates how much equity homeowners have built depending on when they bought. For every time period, it uses the median-priced home as the baseline example. The results are eye-opening — according to the study, if you bought the typical home in...
Bought in the mid-90s? You might be sitting on over $400K in equity today.
Purchased in the early 2000s? Even with the housing crash, you could still have around $330K built up.
Bought in 2015? In just about 10 years, many homeowners have already built nearly $285K in equity.
Of course, your exact number will depend on things like what you paid for the home, any updates you’ve made, your original down payment, and a few other factors. But the bottom line is…
A lot of homeowners have hundreds of thousands of dollars in equity—and many don’t even realize it.
Your Equity Could Power Your Next Move
This is where it matters: that equity can ease almost every worry you have about moving right now.
Worried about higher mortgage rates? Your home equity can help — it could fund a big down payment, and the more you put down, the less you’ll need to borrow at today’s rates.
Not sure you can compete in this market? Your equity might let you buy your next home with cash. An all-cash offer is very attractive to sellers because it removes the risk of financing falling through.
Bottom Line
If you haven’t had anyone walk you through your home’s value this year, now’s a great time to check. You don’t have to sell — but you’ll get a clear idea of what your home is worth and what possibilities that number could open up.
Want a personalized, professional equity assessment? Let’s connect.
