Freddie Mac: Home Equity Borrowing Down

In the first three months of the year, 56 percent of homeowners refinanced their mortgages and cashed out at least 5 percent of their equity, according to Freddie Mac on Friday. That is a four year low, and down from the peak in mid 2006 of 88 percent. Homeowner's inability to tap their home equity often affects their spending and investment decisions, which is why economists watch the rate so closely. From January through March, Freddie Mac said borrowers cashed $29 billion in home equity, down more than 19 percent from $36 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007.