Glossary term
Home equity
The property's value less mortgages, HELOC balances, and other debts secured by it.
Plain meaning
What home equity means
Home equity is the remaining property value after subtracting all debt secured by the home from the accepted property value.
How OpenBook uses it
A housing balance-sheet measure
OpenBook uses home equity in net-worth, sale-proceeds, housing-change, and home-secured-borrowing explanations.
Common boundary
Equity is not approved borrowing capacity
Home equity is not the same as cash or approved borrowing capacity. A lender's accepted property value and applicable borrowing rules can produce a different accessible amount.