Housing market conditions are prompting many older homeowners to age in place and renovate, rather than sell and purchase another home. And while some may opt to rebuild with savings or home equity lines of credit, larger projects have homeowners utilizing home improvement loans to fund their remodels, according to LendingTree.
Growing property values, rising mortgage rates and limited home inventory continue extending homeownership tenure to nearly double levels seen since the early 2000s, according to Attom Data Solutions. While that's contributing to the stifling of mortgage origination volume, it also presents an opportunity for savvy lenders to market home improvement loans and other home equity products to homeowners.
San Jose, Calif., was among the top housing markets where homeowners took out home improvement loans. Because property values in the city are so high, consumers are more inclined to stay put and renovate rather than try and afford what little is left on the market in the high-demand area.
Including the West Coast city, here's a look at the 10 housing markets using the most home equity loans. The rankings, derived from a LendingTree report, are based on an analysis of 2017 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data to measure the 50 largest cities by the volume of home improvement loans as a percentage of the total housing units in a city, according to LendingTree.
