Columbia SC home equity is rising once again. Home gains over the past two years have restored a lot of money to most homeowner's available fund balance through the value in their home versus what they owe on it. As a result, more and more Columbia SC homeowners are taking out HELOC's (Home Equity Lines of Credit) again.

Through July, some 449 of 884 markets or 48.9 percent of America's housing markets, have reached or exceeded median peak price levels, according to Homes.com.

RealtyTrac recently reported that the 12 months ending in June 2014 a total of 797,865 Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOCs) were originated nationwide, up 20.6 percent from a year ago and the highest level since the 12 months ending in June 2009.

What Exactly is a Home Equity Line?

Home Equity Lines of Credit are non-purchase loans that are secured by the equity (the appraised market value of a property minus any other loans secured by that property) and can be used by homeowners to fund home improvement projects or other purchases.

This recent rise in HELOC originations indicates an increasing number of homeowners are gaining confidence in the strength of the housing recovery and, more importantly, have regained much of their home equity lost during the housing crisis. Nearly 10 million homeowners nationwide, representing 19 percent of all homeowners with a mortgage, now have at least 50 percent equity in their homes, according to RealtyTrac data. Meanwhile the percentage of homeowners with severe negative equity has decreased from 29 percent in the second quarter of 2012 to 17 percent in the second quarter of this year.

With new loans slowing to a crawl, lenders have been looking for ways to come up with products to offer homeowners who have already refinanced or gotten their primary loan. A Columbia SC home equity loan (HELOC) enables homeowners to leverage additional equity they may have gained since refinancing while still preserving the rock-bottom interest rate on their first position loan.