HELOC Cross-Sell Marketing: Finding Equity-Rich Homeowners

As interest rates continue to shift, many homeowners are looking for ways to tap into the equity they have in their homes and the numbers back it up. Tappable home equity among U.S. homeowners is at $11 trillion, while total HELOC and home equity loan originations rose 7.2% year-over-year in 2024.

This is one of the most active home equity markets in years.

With HELOC rates having eased from their recent peaks, borrower demand is likely to accelerate. Banks are more willing to lend for HELOCs than they were just a few years ago, and homeowners who have built significant equity are taking notice. If your customers are thinking about a HELOC, now is a good time. 

For lenders, that means a growing cross-sell opportunity and a shrinking window to act on it first. Here’s what they need to know.

How Do HELOCs Work?

A home equity line of credit is essentially a loan that uses the borrower’s home as collateral. 

The amount available depends on factors such as the borrower’s credit score, income, and the value of the home minus any outstanding mortgage balance. Borrowers can generally access up to 85% of the home’s value, though some lenders may limit this to 70%.

Unlike a traditional loan, a HELOC lets borrowers draw funds as needed, up to their credit limit, which is useful for repairs or improvements. Interest is charged only on the portion drawn, with no principal payments due until the end of the draw period (typically 10 years). The borrower then enters the repayment period, which lasts another 20 years or so, making both principal and interest payments each month.

For lenders, understanding this structure is only half the equation. Knowing which borrowers have the equity position, credit profile, and life circumstances that make a HELOC the right product right now –  that’s where real-time borrower intelligence makes the difference.

Why Borrowers Choose a HELOC?

Homeowners with a low rate on their current mortgage can consolidate debt with a HELOC to save on interest without touching that first-lien rate. 

Others need access to cash for an emergency expense or large purchase, and a HELOC offers that flexibility without selling assets. For lenders, the best HELOC candidates are those with both the equity and the repayment capacity to use it responsibly. 

The shift toward debt consolidation as a primary driver means the pool of HELOC-eligible borrowers is broader than it used to be. Identifying them requires more than a static list. Lenders that can connect credit signals, equity data, and consumer behavior in real time are the ones best positioned to reach these borrowers before anyone else does.

Why HELOC Cross-Sell Favors Lenders and Servicers Right Now 

The timing also favors action now. HELOC rates are declining, with the average second-lien HELOC rate falling to 6.6% in March, its lowest since late 2022, according to ICE Mortgage Technology. 

As rates ease, borrower interest is only going to grow. And with $11 trillion in tappable equity sitting in homeowner hands, the addressable market is substantial.

For lenders and servicers, the strategic advantage is already in place. It’s a direct relationship with borrowers who own homes, have a known payment history, and trust the institution. 

The challenge is acting on that relationship at the right moment. 

Most servicers are working from payment history and loan terms. That data explains the past, but it says nothing about which borrowers are about to consider tapping their equity. Layering in real-time credit signals, property and equity data, and consumer life-event indicators is what closes that gap. It surfaces HELOC-ready borrowers at the individual level, before a competitor gets there first. 

Altair Can Help You Find the Right HELOC Customers

For lenders and servicers, the advantage lies in knowing which borrowers already in your portfolio are ready for a HELOC right now. Altair’s credit and consumer data solutions combine real-time credit triggers, property and equity data, and consumer life-event signals with off-the-shelf HELOC propensity models. This helps identify ready customers, current and prospective – at the individual level – before a competitor reaches them first.

That intelligence flows directly into the systems you already run such as your CRM, data warehouse, or marketing platform, filtered through your own risk and compliance logic before it ever reaches a banker’s desk. Nothing to rip out, nothing new to adopt.

For banks that want activation support on top of the intelligence, Altair Data also offers data strategy, direct mail, email deployment, and measurement and reporting – as an add-on to the data solutions, not a substitute for it. Whether you want the full bundle or just the data feed, we’ll build it around what’s already in your stack.

Learn more by calling our sales team at 1 (615) 468-6800.

Sources

• https://ir.theice.com/press/news-details/2026/ICE-Mortgage-Monitor-Q4-Lending-Climbs-to-3-5-Year-High-as-Refinance-Activity-Accelerates-and-Servicer-Retention-Strengthens/default.aspx
• https://www.housingwire.com/articles/ice-home-equity-lending/
• https://newslink.mba.org/servicing-newslink/2025/august/mba-servicing-newslink-tuesday-aug-12-2025/chart-of-the-week-heloc-and-home-equity-loan-origination-volume-by-known-borrower-usage/