Current national avg. HELOC adjustable rate sat near 7%, while the avg. fixed home equity loan rate stayed just below 7.5% for qualified borrowers.
The main choice was structure: a variable-rate HELOC or fixed-rate home equity loan, with payoff planning framed as key to deciding.
Second-mortgage pricing followed prime rate plus a margin, not the 10-yr Treasury. With prime at ~6.75%, a 0.75% margin meant ~7.5%.
Lenders used different pricing methods, so shopping around mattered. Rates depended on credit score, debt load, and credit line size versus home value.
Some HELOC averages included low introductory rates lasting 6 mo or 1 yr, then resetting to higher variable rates. Fixed home equity loans typically did not.
One lender offered a HELOC at ~6% for 12 mo on lines up to $500K, then converted it to a variable rate near 7.25%.
The article said tapping equity could make sense now because homeowners kept their low primary mortgage rate while accessing cash for improvements, repairs