Sometimes the headlines can feel heavy.
You read about prices cooling or values dipping and it is natural to wonder what that means for your own home.
But there is something the headlines do not explain.
Even with small declines in some places, most homeowners are still far ahead because of one thing.
Your equity.
Let me walk you through it in a calm way.
For the last few years, home prices moved in a way we had never seen before.
During 2020 and 2021 the number of homes for sale reached record lows.
Buyers were competing for almost everything and prices rose fast.
That period created a wave of equity for nearly every homeowner.
And like anything that rises that quickly, eventually the market needed to breathe.
As more homes came onto the market this year, price growth slowed.
That means equity growth slowed too.
But slowed does not mean lost.
You have not moved backwards.
You have simply entered a more balanced moment.
Here is the perspective people forget.
According to Zillow, home prices are still up forty five percent nationwide since March 2020.
That is an enormous amount of growth.
And even in the cities where prices cooled a little this year, the average dip is around four percent.
Four percent does not erase forty five.
Your five year gains are stronger than ever.
Every state in the country has higher prices today than it did five years ago.
That means homeowners everywhere have more equity than they think.
In Los Angeles this is especially true because long term demand is strong.
Most people who bought before the pandemic are sitting on a level of equity that was almost impossible to imagine before 2020.
And if you ever start to worry that prices will fall sharply or your equity will disappear, remember this.
Economists across the industry agree that large price drops are extremely unlikely.
What we are seeing is not a crash.
It is balance.
A healthy return to steadier growth after years of extreme appreciation.
So if you are thinking about selling or moving to your next chapter, your equity can give you freedom.
You can use it to downsize, move up, or step into a home that feels more aligned with the way you live today.
You may be far more ahead than you realize.
If you want to know how much equity you have in your home right now, I can walk you through it.
Calmly.
Clearly.
So you can make the right decision for your future.
