It’s not the best time to be in the market for a house. Prices have dropped a bit from their peak last year, but they remain high. And mortgage rates are high too. 

But for homeowners, it’s a different story. Thanks to those high prices, many owners have seen their equity rise in the past few years. 

A new report from the real estate data firm Attom shows the rate of mortgage borrowers considered “equity-rich” — meaning their loan balance was up to half of their home’s value — increased to 49% in the second quarter. That’s a four-year high.

And in the event of something like a death, divorce or job loss, homeowners could access that wealth through a home equity loan, said Selma Hepp, chief economist at CoreLogic.

“Just knowing that you have that equity and if, you know, push comes to shove, you can tap into it, it’s a very positive place to be for homeowners,” Hepp said.

But with high interest rates, taking out a loan or refinancing your mortgage might not make much sense, especially if you locked in a mortgage when rates were really low a couple years ago, said Susan Wachter, a professor of real estate at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

“Why would you refinance if you’ve got a mortgage of 3%, at a mortgage rate of 7%?” Wachter said. “So this equity remains untapped.”

Higher rates also mean homeowners aren’t using their equity to buy a new house either, said Guy Cecala, executive chair of Inside Mortgage Finance.

“Many people are trapped in their home, and their home equity is trapped in their home with them,” Cecala said.

One thing that could change that, he said, is if the Federal Reserve stops raising interest rates, leading mortgage rates to fall.  

“And that certainly will be welcome news and probably free up a lot of homebuyers to buy houses and for homeowners to sell their houses,” he added.

But exactly when the Fed might start to reverse course on interest rates is anyone’s guess.