{"id":1598,"date":"2025-07-27T14:54:25","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T14:54:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/2025\/07\/27\/home-equity-news-this-weeks-roundup-bankrate-3\/"},"modified":"2025-07-27T14:54:25","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T14:54:25","slug":"home-equity-news-this-weeks-roundup-bankrate-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/2025\/07\/27\/home-equity-news-this-weeks-roundup-bankrate-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Home Equity News: This Week’s Roundup | Bankrate"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The top stories in home equity, mortgages and real estate<\/h2>\n

Interest rates roundup<\/h3>\n

Soaring prices but sluggish sales<\/h3>\n

Another month, another record for home prices. They just keep rising, with the median price climbing to an all-time high of $435,300 in June. However, sales retreated: Even though listings are slowly increasing, low inventory \u2014 along with elevated mortgage rates \u2014 are making it hard for buyers. What\u2019s next for the housing market? It all depends on where mortgage rates and the economy go from here.<\/p>\n

The unequal equity equation<\/h3>\n

Home equity should be a steeping stone to stability, not another symbol of inequality. But unfortunately, Black and Hispanic homeowners still face disproportionate barriers in building an equity stake and being able to tap it when they do. We examine why it\u2019s tougher for people of color to cash in and how to narrow the racial home equity gap. <\/p>\n

Think you can tap your entire equity stake? Think again<\/h3>\n

So, you\u2019ve amassed a major amount of equity in your home and are considering tapping it for cash for a big remodel or to pay off debts. Here\u2019s the thing: You typically can\u2019t access all of that stake, even if you own your house free and clear. Find out more about when, where and why lenders cap how much you can borrow.<\/p>\n

Making sense of mortgage rates with Bankrate\u2019s new tool<\/h3>\n

Ah, the mysteries of mortgage rates: Their fluctuations can make homebuying or refinancing feel like a guessing game. But Bankrate\u2019s Mortgage Rate Variability Index could be a game-changer. Our newly launched barometer looks at how much rates have bounced around recently and puts the moves into historical context. Check it out\u2014it can be an important tool in your arsenal when loan-shopping.<\/p>\n

Is a home equity refi a smart move?<\/h3>\n

Thinking about refinancing your home equity loan? Now might be a good time, since rates are lower than they were at this same time last year. But be aware \u2014 while it can help lower your monthly payments or get you a better interest rate, refinancing isn\u2019t free, and could even cost you dearly in the long run.<\/p>\n

Too low a rate to lose<\/h3>\n

Homeowners are becoming real stay-at-homes. Bankrate\u2019s 2025 Mortgage Rates Sentiment Survey finds over half (51 percent) of them wouldn\u2019t buy a new place this year even if mortgage rates dropped \u2014 considerably more than in our 2024 survey. Even more (54 percent) declare there\u2019s no<\/em> mortgage rate at which they would be comfortable with selling their home this year, period. The culprit: those ultra-low interest rates from years past.<\/p>\n

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35% <\/p>\n

Borrowers with mortgage rates in the 4-5.99% range who are considering a home equity loan <\/p>\n

Source: 2025 ICE Borrower Insights Survey <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

In case you missed it<\/h2>\n

Technically, these stories were released in the previous weeks, but they\u2019re still worth highlighting.<\/p>\n

Navigating the waters of negative equity<\/h3>\n

We all expect our homes to grow in value over time, but sometimes the opposite happens, and when your home\u2019s worth drops below what you still owe on it. Known as \u201cnegative equity,\u201d the situation sounds scary \u2014 but don\u2019t worry: While it can make selling or refinancing a bit tricky, there are ways to recover from it. <\/p>\n

The mortgage offer you didn\u2019t ask for<\/h3>\n

When you apply for a mortgage, your info can get handed around like a hot potato, leading to a nonstop flood of calls, texts and emails from lenders trying to snag your business. They\u2019re called \u201ctrigger leads.\u201d And while a little competition can help you to a better deal, the overload can become annoying \u2014 not to mention, some are a little sketchy. Find out what the government is doing about this pesky practice.<\/p>\n

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Unlock your home\u2019s value <\/h3>\n

Achieve your financial goals with predictable payments on a lump-sum home equity loan.<\/p>\n

Explore offers <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

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Did you find this page helpful? <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Help us improve our content<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The top stories in home equity, mortgages and real estate Interest rates roundup Soaring prices but sluggish sales Another month, another record for home prices. They just keep rising, with the median price climbing to an all-time high of $435,300 in June. However, sales retreated: Even though listings are slowly increasing, low inventory \u2014 along<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/413-Banking-3-25-news-roundup.jpg",1280,720,false],"thumbnail":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/413-Banking-3-25-news-roundup-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/413-Banking-3-25-news-roundup-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/413-Banking-3-25-news-roundup-768x432.jpg",640,360,true],"large":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/413-Banking-3-25-news-roundup-1024x576.jpg",640,360,true],"1536x1536":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/413-Banking-3-25-news-roundup.jpg",1280,720,false],"2048x2048":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/413-Banking-3-25-news-roundup.jpg",1280,720,false],"morenews-featured":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/413-Banking-3-25-news-roundup-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"morenews-large":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/413-Banking-3-25-news-roundup-825x575.jpg",825,575,true],"morenews-medium":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/413-Banking-3-25-news-roundup-590x410.jpg",590,410,true],"crawlomatic_preview_image":["http:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/413-Banking-3-25-news-roundup-260x146.jpg",260,146,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"henry","author_link":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/author\/henry\/"},"category_info":"Latest News<\/a>","tag_info":"Latest News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}