Homeowners Turn to Equity Investments as Interest Rates Rise

BOSTON, Nov. 10, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Homeowners are increasingly turning to home equity investments as borrowing costs rise, according to data from Hometap, a financial technology company. In the three weeks following the Federal Reserve's rate hike on September 16, pre-qualifications for Hometap investments jumped 20%, and the figure was up 40% from the same period a year earlier. September marked the highest month on record for pre-qualifications, with a homeowner pre-qualifying for a Hometap investment every three minutes.

Homeowners are sitting on a record $18 trillion in home equity, but tapping it now comes with a higher monthly payment. According to Bankrate, home equity loan rates have averaged 8.77% in recent months, translating to a monthly payment of about $630 on a $50,000, 10-year loan. As costs climb, traditional ways of using home equity may no longer be the right fit for every homeowner.

Hometap offers homeowners another way to use their equity without having to take on additional monthly payments or sell their home. In June, the company updated its pricing to make this option more accessible. In the three months that followed, pre-qualifications rose 28% from the same period a year earlier. Homeowners are putting their equity toward the things that matter most to them: more than half of all Hometap investments (55%) have gone toward paying down debt, and about one in five (22%) toward home renovations.

JoAnne Grossman, a homeowner in South Carolina, is one of the many who have turned to Hometap. She needed to replace her central air and pay down debt but decided against traditional lending options.

Hometap has helped more than 30,000 homeowners across 26 states access their home equity. The company surpassed $3 billion invested and 30,000 homeowners served in October.

Homeowners can see whether a home equity investment could be a good fit with Hometap's four-question HEI fit quiz or get an estimate of how much equity they could access at hometap.com/. Founded in 2017, Hometap is a Boston-based fintech company on a mission to make homeownership less stressful and more accessible. Starting with its industry-leading home equity investment product, the company has expanded its suite of innovative financial products and services in 2022 and introduced a centralized dashboard that allows homeowners to easily track their home equity, receive guidance and support from experts, and protect and grow the value of their home.