Mortgage holder equity reached $18 trillion for the first time on record while annual home price growth reached a 14-month high in July, according to the August 2026 Mortgage Monitor Report Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE: ICE).
“Mortgage holder equity hitting $18 trillion is a remarkable milestone — one that reflects just how much wealth American homeowners have built,” said Andy Walden, head of mortgage and housing market research at ICE. “The spring market provided a meaningful boost to both prices and equity, and we’re seeing those tailwinds work through the data now. At the same time, rates have trended higher since early in the year, which may soften how much additional acceleration we’re likely to see in the second half.”
The new ICE report found annual home price growth rose to 1.5% in July, marking its fifth consecutive month of acceleration and the steepest single-month increase since mid-2023. Within the record-breaking $18 trillion in mortgage holder equity, 47.5 million mortgage holders hold $11.7 trillion in tappable equity, averaging approximately $212,000 per borrower.
However, ICE also noted that approximately 813,000 borrowers are underwater — up 44% year-over-year — concentrated among FHA and VA borrowers, those who purchased between 2022 and 2025, and in Texas and Florida where price declines from peak have been most pronounced.
Furthermore, buyers purchasing bank-owned REO properties in July did so at a 27.5% discount to comparable sales in June — among the largest in over two decades. ICE added that the most significant discounts relative to their own histories were in markets that typically offered the least: Florida, Texas, California and the Mountain West. Still, foreclosure rates and distressed purchase opportunities remain scarce in those areas.
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