Homeowners Are Raking it in

American homeowners are continuing their run of good fortune, as home equity grew 12.3 percent year-over-year in the second quarter of 2018, translating to $16,200.

The latest report from CoreLogic shows that West Coast homeowners are gaining the most, with average annual growth of $48,000 in home equity. Bay Area real estate firm Compass' chief market analyst Patrick Carlisle says, "The first half of 2018 was probably the most ferocious market since the year 2000 in terms of buyer demand, competition between buyers, and overbidding," telling Realtor.com, "We saw some huge jumps in median sale prices. It’s crazy.” Yet, home price appreciation is expected to slow as more supply hits the market this fall. By contrast, equity dropped in three states, equity fell: $910 in Connecticut, $1,078 in Louisiana, and $773 in North Dakota.

It pays to be a homeowner—quite a bit, actually. In certain parts of the country, it's even wildly profitable. Cha-ching! "It's good news if you're an existing homeowner. ... You can certainly use that additional wealth as collateral you could borrow against if you're looking to make some home improvements," says CoreLogic's chief economist, Frank Nothaft. "But it's probably not good news if you're in the market looking to buy."

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