The Strongest Housing Market of Our Lifetime

Numbers Don't Lie

I'm writing this from Miami, at the HomeServices of America conference, and I just walked out of a breakout session I'll be thinking about for a long time.

David Childers of Keeping Current Matters put one slide on the screen and the room went quiet.

The headline read: This is the Strongest Housing Market of Our Lifetime. Not a sales pitch. Federal Reserve data, Q2 2026.

As part of Edina Realty's Executive Circle, I get a front-row seat to conversations like this one. I want to bring it straight home to you, because these numbers change how we should think about where we live, how we live, and what's possible next.

$35.8 Trillion Reasons to Pay Attention

Here's the slide, straight from the session. Three lines tell the whole story:

$49.8 trillion — the total value of residential real estate in America

$35.8 trillion — the total equity homeowners hold

$14.0 trillion — the total mortgage debt against it

Read that again. Homeowners own roughly 72 cents of every dollar of housing value. Debt is only about 28 cents.

Since 2020 alone, total home value has climbed about 70% and homeowner equity has nearly doubled. Meanwhile, the debt line barely moved. That gap is wealth, and it belongs to everyday families.

This Is Not 2006

I've been doing this for more than 28 years. I sold homes through the run-up, the crash, and the long climb back. So when someone asks,"Is this a bubble?" I look at that same chart and see a completely different picture.

In 2012, Americans owed more on their homes than they owned in equity . Today , equity outweighs debt by more than two and a half to one. Mid-2000s figures are read from the slide and approximate.

That cushion matters. Owners aren't stretched thin. They have options, and options are what a strong market is made of .

What Your Equity Looks Like Where You Live

The second slide brought it closer to home. This is the average equity per homeowner, state by state:

The average Minnesota homeowner is sitting on more than $221,000 in equity . Right across the river in Wisconsin, it's $219,000. That's not money on paper you'll never touch.

It's a down payment on a lake place, a cash purchase in Florida, or the freedom to rightsize without starting over.

Equity Is Freedom: Lifestyle, Location, and the Second Home

This is where the numbers become a life. Equity is the bridge between the home you have and the life you want. Here's what I'm seeing with our clients right now:

The lake place. Families tapping equity to buy on a Minnesota or Wisconsin lake while keeping their primary home.

The Florida chapter. Twin Cities homeowners using their equity to own a winter home

in Florida, or to make Florida home.

Rightsizing with purpose. Empty nesters moving into the right-sized space, often with cash left over to travel, invest, or help their kids.

Closer to family. Grandparents relocating to be near the people they love, without financial strain.

Owning more than one home used to feel out of reach for most people. For many homeowners today, the equity to do it is already in their walls.

How We Navigate Uncertainty

Headlines will always find something to worry about. Rates, elections, the economy . Our job isn't to ignore the noise. It's to cut through it with f acts and a plan.

At the Cari Ann Carter Group, that looks like:

Data first. We lean on trusted sources like Keeping Current Matters and Federal Reserve data, not hype.

Backed by the best. As part of Edina Realty and the HomeServices of America family, we bring national insight to every local decision.

Life before transaction. We start with where you want to be in five years, then build the move around it.

Experience that's been tested. 28+ years, $500M+ in sales, and a top 1% team nationally . We've guided families through every kind of market.

Uncertainty doesn't mean stand still. It means move with a guide who knows the terrain.

Your Next Chapter Starts With One Number

We are living in a market we've never seen before, and in the best possible ways. The question isn't whether you have options. It's what you'll do with them.

Curious what your equity could open up? Let's find out together . Reach out to the Cari Ann Carter Group for a personal equity review , and let's map out your next move: the lake, the coast, the right-sized home, or all three.

Data: Keeping Current Matters, presented by David Childers at the HomeServices of

America conference, October 2026. Source: Federal Reserve, Q2 2026.