The home equity market is hot; the race for business is hotter. Lenders that master speed, efficiency and the borrower experience will win the day.

Homeowners aren’t just sitting on historically high levels of equity — $34.9 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, according to the Federal Reserve Bank — they are actively leveraging it. The June 2026 ICE Mortgage Monitor reports that, in 2026, home equity withdrawals reached their highest first-quarter volume since 2021.  

“People need cash for home upgrades and renovations, debt consolidation, vacations, managing the rising costs of daily living — you name it,” said Dave Howard, executive vice president, origination services at ServiceLink. “As home values in most markets continue to increase and high mortgage interest rates freeze people out of refinances, they recognize that their home equity is a source of cash just waiting to be unlocked.”

Lenders are happy to oblige, but they need a solid strategy to overcome the increasingly fierce competition. Borrowers have more options than ever before as an unprecedented number of fintechs and traditional financial institutions stake their claim in the home equity arena.  

“In addition to all the fintechs that are entering the market, some of the established lenders that got out of home equity after COVID to take advantage of the refinance boom are now getting back into the space. We’ve seen lenders in other parts of the lending sphere — reverse mortgage lenders, for example — spinning up home equity divisions as well,” said Barry Coffin, managing director, origination title and close at ServiceLink. “Everybody's getting into it and everybody's looking to offer the best solution.”

Which lenders will win the day? Those that understand borrower motivations and preferences, embrace technology and deliver a digital speed-to-closing process, Coffin stated. “Today’s borrowers are accustomed to using digital tools and benefiting from the speed they deliver. Once lenders incorporate those types of tools into their home equity processes, they’ll rise to the top.”  

What research says about today’s borrowers

Understanding the circumstances and psychology of potential home equity borrowers is the first step in delivering their ideal experience. ServiceLink’s 2026 State of Homebuying Report captured insights related to borrower needs and expectations related to home equity. In short:

Even recent homeowners are sitting on equity. Two out of three respondents (67%) — all of whom had purchased a home within the past two years — reported already having more than $50,000 in equity in their homes. Nearly two in five, 38%, said they had built up more than $100,000 in equity. With 41% of respondents stating they plan to stay in their current homes for six to 15 years, those figures will continue to grow.  

Many are ready to tap their equity. As equity builds, 36% of respondents are considering taking out a home equity loan this year. This compares to just 24% who said the same in the 2025 survey. Gen Z and millennial borrowers are particularly interested in this opportunity, with 48% and 42%, respectively, poised to pull the trigger on a home equity loan or line of credit. While their motivations vary, nearly half, 49%, said they would be most likely to tap their equity to have extra money to make home improvements. Other primary motivators included paying off student loans, bills or other debt (22%); starting a business (16%) and funding a vacation (9%).

They want speed, simplicity and transparency. The average turn time for home equity transactions today is around 42 days. Borrowers think that getting to the closing table should be faster: 79% think it should take four weeks or less, and 50% think it should take two weeks or less. Technology can help lenders make that happen — a fact not lost on borrowers.  

Accustomed to managing their everyday activities with the support of apps, automation and instant access to information, today’s borrowers expect the same level of digital ease from their home equity experience. They look at mortgage technology as a path to time savings (cited by 57% of respondents as a key benefit), convenience/ease of use (52%), flexibility to progress on their own schedule (43%) and staying informed throughout the process (41%), among other benefits.  

In fact, the availability of certain technology tools could influence a borrower to choose one lender over another. Topping borrowers’ wish list of tasks they’d like to see digitized? eSigning some or all of their closing documents (88%), self-scheduling their appraisal and/or closing appointments for the exact date and time they desire (87%) and completing the closing virtually (82%).

How lenders can meet the moment

In the increasingly competitive market, lenders need a forward-looking home equity partner that can infuse more technology into their processes to optimize speed, efficiency, borrower satisfaction and pull-through rates. ServiceLink helps lenders create a tech-enabled home equity experience with solutions that include:

• Instant property information and rapidly delivered title reports to accelerate decisioning and provide borrowers with a closing timeline early on

• EXOS® Valuations and EXOS® Close technologies, which empower borrowers or loan officers to immediately schedule appraisal and closing appointments digitally

• Fully digital (remote online notarization) or hybrid closings, in addition to traditional wet signings, all supported by a nationwide network of specialized notaries, so borrowers can close anywhere they prefer — in a branch, at home, from their office, etc.

• ServiceLink CloseNow™, a super-fast solution providing access to instant property information that enables lenders to lock borrowers in at point-of-sale and move to close as soon as the same day, while ensuring lender risk and investor requirements are met

“ServiceLink offers a full range of solutions to help lenders deliver an elevated customer experience and develop new capabilities across the origination timeline,” Howard said. “Our investments in innovative technologies and tools never stop.”

Learn more about ServiceLink’s home equity solutions here.

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