10:25 AM EDT, 08/05/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Intercontinental Exchange ( ICE ) Monday said equity levels for mortgage holders hit a new high during the second quarter of 2024, rising to a record $17.6 trillion by the end of June as rising home prices outpaced the increase in outstanding mortgage debt and overall market leverage as measured by the ICE Mortgage Monitor remained near all-time lows.

"Rising home prices have also continued to build the fortunes of existing homeowners," according to Andy Walden, the vice president for research and analysis at ICE, lifting the amount a mortgage holder can leverage while retaining a healthy 20% equity cushion to its highest level ever at $11.5 trillion, up 4% from the end of March and rising 9.2% over year-ago levels.

Overall, the ICE study found that around 32 million US mortgage holders had at least $100,000 in tappable equity available, with about 4.6 million of those homeowners having at least $500,000 and almost 1.2 million holding more than $1 million in tappable equity.

The ICE Mortgage Monitor also found fewer than 325,000 homeowners were underwater with their home loans nationwide at the end of Q2, representing just 0.60% of active mortgages. Another 4.2% of mortgage holders had less than 10% equity in their homes, it said.

Price: 148.43, Change: -1.42, Percent Change: -0.95