American homeowners are sitting on record levels of housing wealth, with 2.4 million mortgage holders now holding at least $1 million in home equity - a milestone that is reshaping how financial advisors approach client conversations around liquidity, retirement planning, and wealth transfer.
The findings come from the November 2026 ICE Mortgage Monitor Report, released Nov. 9, 2026, by Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) revealing that mortgage holders collectively held $17.5 trillion in home equity in the third quarter of 2026, up 1.4 percent year over year.
Tappable equity - the amount homeowners can access while maintaining a 20 percent equity cushion - rose 1.2 percent to an average of $204,000 per borrower, an increase of $16,600 from a year earlier.
The report marks a Q3 record for both total home equity and the number of equity millionaires. Nearly 9 million mortgage holders held $500,000 or more in equity, up 4 percent year over year, ICE found.
The geographic distribution of that wealth is striking. California alone accounted for 49 percent of the nation's equity millionaires, according to the ICE report.
New York followed with 189,000, New Jersey with 141,000, and Florida with 104,000. For advisors serving clients in those markets, the data underscores a planning reality that is increasingly difficult to ignore: housing has become one of the largest single assets on many clients' balance sheets.
That dynamic is not new, but its scale is. As InvestmentNews has reported, home equity has soared toward record territory in recent quarters, even as affordability pressures have kept transaction volumes subdued. The result is a population of asset-rich homeowners who may be cash-constrained.
In a higher rate environment, more homeowners are actively seeking ways to unlock that value.
Cash-out transactions accounted for one in seven rate locks in recent weeks, according to ICE. Purchase loans accounted for roughly 80 percent of rate locks, leaving cash-out refinances as the primary mechanism through which existing homeowners are accessing liquidity.
"Homeowners are sitting on substantial housing wealth, with 2.4 million mortgage holders now holding at least $1 million in equity," said Andy Walden, head of mortgage and housing market research at Intercontinental Exchange. "In a higher rate environment, cash-outs are making up a greater share of refinances, with those homeowners giving up historically low mortgage rates and taking on higher monthly payments to tap into their equity."
For advisors, that trade-off carries real planning implications. A client who cash-out refinances a low-rate mortgage to fund a business, pay down higher-cost debt, or make a large purchase is accepting a structurally higher monthly cost - a decision that ripples through retirement projections, cash flow planning, and estate strategy.
Advisors are increasingly rethinking home equity liquidity as 30-year fixed rates push above 7 percent, weighing whether a cash-out makes financial sense against other borrowing options.
Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) - loans with interest rates that reset at set intervals - have also gained traction in this environment. ARMs accounted for more than 10 percent of early October 2026 rate locks as 30-year fixed rates moved above 7 percent, ICE found.
The points-adjusted spread between 5/1 ARMs and 30-year fixed loans widened from roughly 75 basis points over the summer to more than 100 basis points in early October, making ARMs more attractive for borrowers willing to accept rate reset risk.
The data also reveals a retention challenge for mortgage servicers that has a parallel in the advisor world. Servicers retained just 27 percent of refinancing borrowers in Q3 2026, down four percentage points from the prior quarter. Among rate-and-term refinancers, retention fell nine percentage points to 30 percent. Cash-out refinances accounted for 75 percent of all refinance-portfolio attrition, according to ICE.
"Traditional rate-based retention strategies aren't effective for borrowers who are motivated by access to equity rather than interest rate savings," said Bob Hart, president of mortgage technology at Intercontinental Exchange. "To retain these borrowers, servicers need better visibility into their equity positions and the ability to engage them before they look elsewhere."
The same logic applies to financial advisors. Clients who are equity-rich but underserved on housing wealth strategies are actively making financial decisions - refinancing, borrowing against equity, or exploring alternative products - often without guidance.
The great wealth transfer is already putting housing assets at the center of inheritance conversations, with trillions in home-based wealth set to move between generations over the coming decades.
For advisors who have not yet integrated housing wealth into their planning frameworks, the ICE data makes the case for doing so. With $17.5 trillion in collective equity and a growing cohort of clients holding seven-figure wealth tied up in their homes, the conversation has moved from optional to essential.
The full November 2026 ICE Mortgage Monitor report is available at mortgagetech.ice.com/resources/data-reports.
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