Home Equity on the Rise
In data published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System the first quarter of 2018 saw a high in the value of owner’s equity in real estate. The Financial Accounts of the United States concluded that real estate equity hit a new high on nominal and not 
seasonally adjusted basis.
Households’ owner-occupied real estate rose to $25.1 trillion in the first quarter of 2018 which was $544 billion more than the first quarter in 2017.
The value of owner’s equity in real estate is defined as the difference between the value of owner-occupied real estate and home mortgage debt. The value of owners’ equity rose to $15 trillion in the first quarter of 2018 which is a $1.4 trillion gain over the past four quarters and a 59.7% increase in value.
On a not seasonally adjusted basis the total home mortgage debt increased to $10.1 trillion which was more than $280 billion than the same period in 2017. Home mortgages are the largest share of total household loans.
The first quarter National Delinquency Report (NDS) reports that the delinquency rate for mortgage loans had decreased for loans. In the first quarter of 2018 the percentage of loans that were 90 or more days past due dropped to 1.47%.
The economy’s recovery from the Great Recession has helped homeowner’s loan-to-value ratio which has fallen as the home value grows faster than the debt.
