Home equity

Texas Constitution Art. XVI §50(a)(6) limits those three products to 80% of fair market value. Applies to home-equity loans, HELOCs, and cash-out refinances. A purchase-money mortgage can exceed 80% loan-to-value. The citation is Texas Legislature, SJR 60 (85th Legislature), checked 2026-10-07. SJR 60 bill text. The constitution section is Article XVI.

The home equity calculator subtracts your balance from 80% of the value you type. Total equity is value minus balance. The amount left to borrow under the cap can be smaller than total equity, and it is zero when the balance is already at or above the cap.

Illustration, not an appraisal: a $500,000 value and a $320,000 balance leave $180,000 of equity. 80% of the value is $400,000. Subtract the balance and $80,000 is what the formula leaves for a home-equity or cash-out product. Change either input and the result changes. The calculator does not look up a Houston price, and this site does not publish one.

It does not subtract closing costs, lender fees, or the cash you might need at the table. It does not check credit, occupancy, or whether the home is a homestead. It does not say a lender will use your number as fair market value. A tax appraisal and a lender appraisal are different documents.

Paying the mortgage down increases both equity and the room under the cap, because the balance is what the formula subtracts. The mortgage payoff calculator shows how extra principal changes the balance. Its starting rate is the Freddie Mac survey, 7.4% for the week of 2026-10-15, checked 2026-10-21. That rate is not a home-equity rate. A HELOC rate is whatever the lender discloses.

Property taxes do not enter the 80% math. A higher tax bill can still change what you can afford to borrow. Estimate the bill in the property tax calculator and keep the two results separate.

Houston home equity trends stays inside the figures this dataset can support. The methodology restates the formula, and the editorial policy is why a citywide price series is not on this page. The disclaimer applies: this is not lending advice.