More Homeowners Using Helocs as Financial Safety Net
Home-equity lines of credit were up 40% in the second quarter from a year earlier. Here’s what homeowners should know before taking out Helocs.
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As high interest rates drive up the cost of borrowing money, more people are tapping the equity in their homes.
Americans took out $66 billion in home-equity lines of credit, or Helocs, in the second quarter, a 40% increase from a year ago and the largest amount in almost three years, according to data from real-estate analytics firm Attom Data Solutions. These accounts, which allow homeowners to borrow against the value of their house, are making a comeback as higher rates make it less favourable to refinance a mortgage.
A Heloc works like a credit card, but since it is backed by your property generally offers a much more favourable interest rate. The average Heloc rate is 7.7%, according to Bankrate.com, compared with the average 19.04% APR on a credit card and 10.64% average personal loan rate. Owners get a credit line based on their home equity, but don’t have to use all or even any of available funds.
Financial planners say the ready access to money Helocs provide can be particularly appealing during a time of economic uncertainty—as long as borrowers refrain from treating their home as an ATM. Lenders tend to tighten credit standards during a downturn so it may be wise to apply for a Heloc now if you’re worried about needing the funds later, they said.
“Clients are saying they want a safety net as credit-card bills rise along with unemployment fears,” said Ryan Leahy, regional president and senior loan officer at HomeTown Lenders of Texas.
While Helocs can provide that financial safety net, homeowners have to understand what they are getting into. Those who fail to repay the Heloc could risk losing their home. A Heloc is different from a home-equity loan, which typically has a fixed rate and gives borrowers a lump sum upfront.
While demand for Helocs is increasing, some banks are choosing not to offer them due to the risks, said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence at Attom. Instead, borrowers often turn to credit unions and community banks to get Helocs, he said. Big banks such as Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase & Co. haven’t resumed issuing new Helocs after halting them during the pandemic. A Citibank spokesman said the bank temporarily suspended Helocs, but plans to offer them again next year. Bank of America continues to offer Helocs, according to the company.
Here’s a rundown of how the accounts work and what financial advisers say are the best ways to use them.
How Helocs work
To be eligible for a Heloc, your home’s current value usually needs to be at least 15% higher than the amount you owe on the mortgage, said Kate Wood, a home and mortgage specialist at NerdWallet. Each lender may have slightly different terms and requirements, she said.
The maximum size of a Heloc is usually a fraction of homeowner’s equity. For a home valued at $400,000, with $250,000 still owed on the mortgage, a borrower might be able to get a Heloc for about $90,000, Ms. Wood said.
The interest rates on Helocs are typically variable, meaning they will fluctuate as interest raises change more broadly. Other factors go into the rate, including your credit score, debt-to-income ratio and the amount you are seeking to borrow, Ms. Wood said.
Heloc applications also come with certain fees, which vary by lender, and may include the cost of a home appraisal and title search, along with other expenses that can add up to between 2% and 5% of the total credit line, Ms. Wood said.
Interest paid on a Heloc can be tax deductible, but only if you use the Heloc to pay for home renovations and improvements, said Jacob Channel, senior economist at LendingTree.
You can only deduct interest on up to $750,000 of residential debt—this limit will take into account both how much you owe on a Heloc as well as other types of residence loans like a mortgage, he said.
Helocs for home improvements
One of the most common uses for Helocs is to fund home-improvement projects, which have the added benefit of potentially increasing your home’s value. With home prices and mortgage rates both high, many Americans are choosing to renovate rather than relocate, said Dan Butts, a mortgage banker in Charleston, S.C.
Xin Li, who lives in San Francisco, recently used a Heloc to fund a $120,000 kitchen remodel. She is debating whether to move forward with the renovation now or if she should wait to start withdrawing funds from the Heloc until home furnishing and labor prices fall.
Mr. Butts advises clients to only carry a Heloc balance for a short term, typically around 18 to 24 months, due to the product’s variable interest rate.
At the end of third quarter, the average U.S. homeowner had $196,000 in tappable equity, down 9.6% from the second quarter but still up about 10% from the same time last year, according to mortgage technology and data firm Black Knight Inc.
When Helocs may not be the best option
Jason Blumstein, a financial planner in Englewood, N.J., warns clients against taking out Helocs for large non-discretionary pure expenses such as a vacation or a wedding. These expenses, while they may provide a short-term emotional high, don’t provide a financial return the way a home improvement might, he said.
Taking out home equity to fund investments can be risky
Many people use Helocs for funds to start a business, for a down payment on another property or to put into stocks. But financial advisers warn that such investments can be risky.
In recent years, some aggressive investors would take out a Heloc balance at a low rate and invest the proceeds in anticipation of a higher return in the market. This arbitrage is no longer an optimal strategy with Heloc rates more than double what they were a year ago and increased market volatility, said Jordan Slingo, a financial planner in Athens, Ga.
Don’t use a Heloc to invest in the stock market dip, Leibel Sternbach, a financial adviser in Melville, N.Y., is telling more clients lately.
“Not only will you lose most of your profits to loan fees and interest payments but you’ll be taking on excessive risk,” he said.
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The marketplace has spoken and, at least for now, it’s showing preference for hybrids and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) over battery electrics. That makes Toyota’s foot dragging on EVs (and full speed ahead on hybrids) look fairly wise, though the timeline along a bumpy road still gets us to full electrification by 2035.
Italian supercar producer Lamborghini, in business since 1963, is also proceeding, incrementally, toward battery power. In an interview, Federico Foschini , Lamborghini’s chief global marketing and sales officer, talked about the new Urus SE plug-in hybrid the company showed at its lounge in New York on Monday.
Lamborghini
The Urus SE SUV will sell for US$258,000 in the U.S. (the company’s biggest market) when it goes on sale internationally in the first quarter of 2025, Foschini says.
“We’re using the contribution from the electric motor and battery to not only lower emissions but also to boost performance,” he says. “Next year, all three of our models [the others are the Revuelto, a PHEV from launch, and the continuation of the Huracán] will be available as PHEVs.”
The Euro-spec Urus SE will have a stated 37 miles of electric-only range, thanks to a 192-horsepower electric motor and a 25.9-kilowatt-hour battery, but that distance will probably be less in stricter U.S. federal testing. In electric mode, the SE can reach 81 miles per hour. With the 4-litre 620-horsepower twin-turbo V8 engine engaged, the picture is quite different. With 789 horsepower and 701 pound-feet of torque on tap, the SE—as big as it is—can reach 62 mph in 3.4 seconds and attain 193 mph. It’s marginally faster than the Urus S, but also slightly under the cutting-edge Urus Performante model. Lamborghini says the SE reduces emissions by 80% compared to a standard Urus.
Lamborghini’s Urus plans are a little complicated. The company’s order books are full through 2025, but after that it plans to ditch the S and Performante models and produce only the SE. That’s only for a year, however, because the all-electric Urus should arrive by 2029.
Lamborghini
Thanks to the electric motor, the Urus SE offers all-wheel drive. The motor is situated inside the eight-speed automatic transmission, and it acts as a booster for the V8 but it can also drive the wheels on its own. The electric torque-vectoring system distributes power to the wheels that need it for improved cornering. The Urus SE has six driving modes, with variations that give a total of 11 performance options. There are carbon ceramic brakes front and rear.
To distinguish it, the Urus SE gets a new “floating” hood design and a new grille, headlights with matrix LED technology and a new lighting signature, and a redesigned bumper. There are more than 100 bodywork styling options, and 47 interior color combinations, with four embroidery types. The rear liftgate has also been restyled, with lights that connect the tail light clusters. The rear diffuser was redesigned to give 35% more downforce (compared to the Urus S) and keep the car on the road.
The Urus represents about 60% of U.S. Lamborghini sales, Foschini says, and in the early years 80% of buyers were new to the brand. Now it’s down to 70%because, as Foschini says, some happy Urus owners have upgraded to the Performante model. Lamborghini sold 3,000 cars last year in the U.S., where it has 44 dealers. Global sales were 10,112, the first time the marque went into five figures.
The average Urus buyer is 45 years old, though it’s 10 years younger in China and 10 years older in Japan. Only 10% are women, though that percentage is increasing.
“The customer base is widening, thanks to the broad appeal of the Urus—it’s a very usable car,” Foschini says. “The new buyers are successful in business, appreciate the technology, the performance, the unconventional design, and the fun-to-drive nature of the Urus.”
Maserati has two SUVs in its lineup, the Levante and the smaller Grecale. But Foschini says Lamborghini has no such plans. “A smaller SUV is not consistent with the positioning of our brand,” he says. “It’s not what we need in our portfolio now.”
It’s unclear exactly when Lamborghini will become an all-battery-electric brand. Foschini says that the Italian automaker is working with Volkswagen Group partner Porsche on e-fuel, synthetic and renewably made gasoline that could presumably extend the brand’s internal-combustion identity. But now, e-fuel is very expensive to make as it relies on wind power and captured carbon dioxide.
During Monterey Car Week in 2023, Lamborghini showed the Lanzador , a 2+2 electric concept car with high ground clearance that is headed for production. “This is the right electric vehicle for us,” Foschini says. “And the production version will look better than the concept.” The Lanzador, Lamborghini’s fourth model, should arrive in 2028.
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