California Homeowners Hold $627K Equity, Outperform National Average

The typical California homeowner with a mortgage now holds $626,900 in home equity, a figure that is approximately double the national average of $310,500. This substantial equity would be sufficient to purchase the median-priced home outright in 48 other U.S. states. However, the purchasing power of this equity is significantly diminished within California itself, where the median home listing price is around $750,000, and the median price for an existing single-family home, according to the California Association of Realtors, is $904,640.

Nationally, mortgaged homeowners collectively held $17.9 trillion in net equity during the first quarter of 2026. This represents a fivefold increase over the past 15 years, as reported by Cotality's latest home equity report. Selma Hepp, chief economist at Cotality, noted that while this housing wealth supports household net worth, it also contributes to a slower housing market by potentially "handcuffing" homeowners. The high equity in California exacerbates this effect, as owners may be hesitant to sell their homes and relinquish their favorable mortgages.

While California homeowners possess significant equity, Hawaii leads the nation with an average of approximately $688,000 in equity per mortgaged homeowner. Massachusetts, Washington, and New York follow, with equity figures of $479,600, $441,000, and $433,000, respectively. California's prominence in equity discussions is largely due to its sheer scale, with approximately 7.6 million owner-occupied households compared to Hawaii's 310,000, according to U.S. Census Bureau records. The commonality among these top states is not a single event but a sustained period of property value appreciation.