FILE-New houses line the street of a neighborhood in Ontario, California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
With home prices continuing to rise, many homeowners have seen significant gains (and losses) in their home’s equity.
A new study by Bankrate showed which states saw the greatest home equity gains in the last five years.
What they're saying:
"It’s no surprise that home equity values have risen since 2020, given the rapid appreciation in home prices across the country. What is surprising, however, is which states have benefited the most. While absolute gains favor already high-priced markets like Hawaii, many of the states seeing the highest percentage increases have been flying under the radar," Stephen Kates, chief financial analyst at Bankrate, said.
Top 5 states where average home equity increased the most
Dig deeper:
West Virginia, which topped the list for states that had the biggest gains in home equity, had an average home price of $120,185 in 2020, according to data compiled by Bankrate. In 2025, that average grew to $171,861, driving up home equity a significant amount.
Washington, D.C., which saw the least gains in home equity, had an average home price of $600,708 in 2020. In 2025, that average went up only slightly to $617,355. While the prices of homes technically went up, home equity for the state went down from $172,628 to $106,606.
Nationally, the average house price was $253,922 in 2020. In 2025, that grew to $256,803.
Top 5 states where average home equity had the least gains
Overall, homeowners in the South and Midwest saw the most home equity growth on average since 2025 while homeowners in the West saw the least.
Home sales have slumped
The other side:
While the price increases on homes may come as good news to homeowners who are staying put, those who are looking to sell may not be as excited about the latest home selling trends.
Stubbornly high mortgage rates and rising prices have intensified the hardships for would-be homebuyers who had already been pummeled by a real estate market that overheated during the pandemic.
And while the number of homes on the market has increased sharply from a year ago, it remains well below normal levels, meaning prices continue to rise even as sales slow.
What’s more, many sellers are opting to pull their homes off the market rather than lower prices. The number of properties taken off the market without having sold jumped 47% in May from a year earlier, according to Realtor.com.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from a Bankrate study based on data from 2020 to 2025. Bankrate observed data from Zillow and Experian. The Associated Press contributed.