Wednesday, April 23, 2025 / by Joyce Dungca
Let’s talk about something you might not check nearly as often as your bank account – and that’s how much your home is worth. But when it comes to your financial situation, it’s an important thing to remember. When’s the last time you had a professional show you the value of your home?
Think about it. For most people, your house is probably the biggest asset you have. And if you’ve owned your home for a few years (or longer), chances are it’s been quietly building wealth for you in the background. And honestly? You might be surprised by just how much.
What Is Home Equity?
This wealth you may not even realize you have comes in the form of home equity. Home equity is the difference between what your house is worth and what you still owe on your mortgage. It grows over time as home values rise and as you pay down your mortgage each month. Here’s an example to help you really understand how this works.
Let’s say your house ...
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team raj jaggi, buyers, sellers, housing market, equity, mortgage, home prices
Wednesday, February 12, 2025 / by Joyce Dungca
If you’re like a lot of aspiring homebuyers, there’s a major hurdle standing in your way — the cost of living. From groceries to gas, eggs, and just about everything else, prices have gone up. And that rings true for home prices, too.
But even when everything feels expensive, there are still ways to make homeownership more than an item on your wish list. You may just need to think about where you plan to buy a bit differently.
Think of Your First Home as a Stepping Stone
One of the biggest misconceptions among buyers is that their first home has to be their forever home – or that it has to check all the boxes of what they want right out of the gate. In reality, it’s just a starting point.
Once you own a home, you start to build equity, which grows over time as home prices rise. Down the road, if you want to move — whether to a larger space, a better location, or both — the equity you’ve gained c; ...
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team raj jaggi, buyers, sellers, housing market, first-time home buyers, equity, homeownership, home buyers
Friday, January 31, 2025 / by Joyce Dungca
Some Highlights
Are you torn between whether to buy a home now or wait? Consider this.
Forecasts show prices will climb for ?at least the next 5 years. If you wait, the price of a home will be higher later on. But, if you buy a $400K now, you could gain roughly $83K in equity as prices rise.
If you're able to buy now, this equity is one reason why it'll be worth it in the long run. Let’s connect if you're ready to talk through ways we can make it happen. ...
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team raj jaggi, buyers, sellers, housing market, equity, home prices
Tuesday, January 28, 2025 / by Joyce Dungca
If retirement is on the horizon, now’s the time to start thinking about your next chapter. And you probably want to make sure you’re set up to feel comfortable financially to live the life you want in retirement.
What you may not realize is you likely have a hidden goldmine of cash you’re not thinking about — and that’s your home. Data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) shows that home values have gone up nearly 60% over the last 5 years alone (see graph below):
And that appreciation gave your net worth a big boost. According to Freddie Mac, over the same five-year period:
“ . . . Boomer overall wealth increased by $19 trillion, or $486,000 per household, half of which is due to house price appreciation.”
So if you’ve been in your house ever longer than that, chances are you have even more equity in your home. If you want to have access to more of the wealth you’ve built up throughou. ...
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team raj jaggi, buyers, sellers, equity, home prices
Monday, January 13, 2025 / by Joyce Dungca
Have you ever stopped to think about how much wealth you’ve built up just from being a homeowner? As home values rise, so does your net worth. And, if you’ve been in your house for a few years (or longer), there’s a good chance you’re sitting on a pile of equity — maybe even more than you realize.
What Is Home Equity?
Home equity is the difference between what your house is worth and what you owe on your mortgage. For example, if your house is worth $500,000 and you still owe $200,000 on your home loan, you have $300,000 in equity. It’s essentially the wealth you’ve built through homeownership. Right now, homeowners across the country are seeing record amounts of equity.
According to Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the average homeowner with a mortgage has $319,000 in home equity.
Why Have Homeowners Gained So Much Equity?
The rise in home equity over the years can be credited to two key factors:
1. Significant Ho. ...
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team raj jaggi, buyers, sellers, equity, home prices
