Technology helps lenders capitalize on home equity opportunities and grow their portfolios

With home values remaining steady, many homeowners continue to take advantage of their record levels of tappable equity. March 2025 ICE Mortgage Monitor data showed that going into the year, mortgage holders were sitting on $17.0T in equity—including $11.0T in tappable equity that could be borrowed against while still maintaining a 20% equity stake in their homes—and that the average mortgage holder had $313,000 of equity. The same report found homeowners withdrew a whopping $46 billion of home equity in Q4. That’s a 20% increase from Q4 2023 and the highest dollar amount since 2021.

In short, the average American homeowner has access to a significant source of funds. And ICE data shows they’re more willing to tap into it now than they have been in years.

Help homeowners tap into their equity

Lenders who can seamlessly manage home equity loans will be well-positioned to retain their customers and capture repeat business. The majority of home equity loans are asset loans and are usually managed in-house, meaning that since these types of loans are rarely sold to another lender, organizations can develop stickier relationships with their customers. The right technology helps lenders provide a convenient and streamlined equity lending experience, which in turn helps them to build trust and loyalty with their customers.

For example, ICE’s intuitive customer engagement tool makes it easy for lenders to present their customers with options to make use of their home equity. It starts with giving homeowners a holistic picture of the equity they have available in their home, and helping them explore avenues to take out a home equity loan or HELOC. Thanks to a seamless integration with ICE’s property valuation tool, qualified customers can proactively complete a self-guided valuation of their property to learn of their equity potential in minutes. The solution lets customers upload photos of the interior and exterior of their home and analyzes the photos to provide a condition and quality rating based on the same standards used by real estate appraisers. These solutions work in concert to make it simple for lenders to provide their customers with options.

Catching tailwinds doesn’t have to be a headache

Lenders might think that adding home equity products to the same portfolio they use to manage their mortgage loan portfolio means adding to their technology budget. That’s because most mortgage servicing systems are not designed to handle both first lien mortgages and home equity loans and lines of credit portfolios. These technology investments can require an ongoing commitment of development resources, especially in the mortgage industry where regulatory change is constant. Home equity products are often subject to the same scrutiny as first lien mortgages, and lenders who handle these loans on different systems could be required to update each one when a new regulatory measure or reporting requirement is instituted impacting both first lien mortgages and home equity products This costs time and money and can open lenders up to risk.

Lenders using MSP®, ICE’s loan servicing system, can manage both first mortgages and home equity products on a single platform so they can focus more on growing their equity business and less on implementing, maintaining and updating disparate systems. Plus, ICE is continually investing in and enhancing MSP to address current regulatory requirements and support evolving compliance needs.

Equity lending will continue to help homeowners leverage their most valuable asset—and mortgage holders have shown they’re increasingly willing to make use of that equity. Lenders who have the technology in place to help those homeowners, and provide them with seamless, accessible options for equity extraction, will be positioned for success.