Bankrate's national average for a 5-year home equity loan reached 8.69% on October 28, 2026, the highest level since May 2024. That figure is the price for one specific borrower, with a 700 credit score borrowing $30,000 at 80% combined loan-to-value, and a homeowner with a stronger profile on both counts should expect to be quoted well below it. The rest of this page covers how to work out where a quote should land before any lender names a number, and how to collect the offers that show whether it did.

Short version: credit score and equity cushion move the rate more than anything else. A borrower who improves either, or simply borrows a little less, can beat the headline by a percentage point or more. Borrowers who skip that homework tend to take whatever the first lender quotes.

The average describes one borrower, not everyone

A home equity loan is a fixed-rate, lump-sum second loan secured by the house, usually repaid over five to 30 years. Its rate is priced on risk, and lenders read that risk from two numbers above all others.

The first is the credit score. The second is combined loan-to-value, or CLTV: the existing mortgage balance plus the new loan, divided by the home's value. Say a house is worth $400,000, the mortgage balance is $230,000 and the owner wants $50,000. That comes to $280,000 against $400,000, a CLTV of 70%. With a $270,000 mortgage balance, the same $50,000 loan pushes CLTV to 80%.

Bankrate's survey fixes both numbers, at a 700 FICO score and 80% CLTV, so that lenders can be compared like for like. The averages it published on October 21, 2026 were 8.67% for a 5-year loan, 8.77% for a 10-year and 8.76% for a 15-year. The ranges are more useful than the averages. On the 10-year loan, quotes ran from 6.25% to 10.54%. A borrower's place in that four-point spread depends mostly on where they sit relative to the 700 and 80% the survey assumes.

The tiers below come from The Mortgage Reports, which counts credit score as the single biggest pricing factor. It puts the gap between the best and worst tiers at 3 to 4 percentage points.

Credit score Typical home equity loan rate Note
760 and above 6.50% to 7.50% 780+ borrowers cited at 6.50% to 6.75%
700 to 769 7.50% to 8.50% Typically 0.5 to 1.5 points above the top tier
640 to 699 8.50% to 10.00% Below 700 often adds 1 to 2 points
Below 640 10.00% or more Approval not assured

The equity side works the same way. Most lenders cap CLTV at 80% to 85%, and a few go to 90% for strong borrowers. The Mortgage Reports' rate guide says the best pricing generally starts at 80% CLTV or lower, and some lenders improve on it at 70% to 75%. Lenders also want debt-to-income (monthly debt payments divided by gross monthly income) below about 43%, though some accept up to 50%. Second homes and investment properties typically pay 0.5 to 1 point more than a primary residence.

The strongest objection is that these tier tables are dated. They were built on early-2026 data, when the average sat near 7.2%, and the market has since risen by roughly 1.4 percentage points. Every band has very likely shifted upward, so a 780 borrower should not expect 6.5% simply because a table says so. The objection is fair, but it changes the levels and not the gaps. Bankrate's October range still started at 6.25% on 10-year loans, and lenders still price the distance between a 700 and a 780 borrower. The size of that distance is what this page is concerned with.

What to gather first

None of this costs money, and most of it is already sitting in a homeowner's accounts. An evening is usually enough.

  • A current credit score

    Note which side of the common pricing cutoffs at 620, 680, 700 and 740 it falls on.

  • The latest mortgage statement

    The current principal balance is the number that goes into CLTV, not the original loan amount.

  • A realistic home value

    Lenders will appraise. Using a conservative figure now avoids an unwelcome surprise later.

  • Monthly debts and gross monthly income

    Needed for debt-to-income. Under 43% is the usual comfort zone.

  • The amount needed and the term wanted

    Both affect the rate, and the amount also sets CLTV.

Pricing the loan before a lender does

From profile to comparable quotes

  1. Place the credit score in a tier

    Match the score to the table above. A score just under a cutoff, such as 735 or 695, is worth noting, because it can cost more than the score itself suggests. Done when: there is an expected rate band written down.

  2. Calculate CLTV for the full loan amount

    Add the mortgage balance and the loan amount, then divide by the home value. Done when: there is one percentage, and it is compared against 80% and 75%.

  3. Test a smaller loan

    If CLTV lands at 81% or 76%, work out how much less would bring it under the threshold. The Mortgage Reports notes that borrowing slightly less near the 80% line can reduce total interest. Done when: it is clear whether a modest cut moves the loan into a better pricing band.

  4. Choose the term deliberately

    Shorter terms usually price lower but carry higher payments. In the October 21 Bankrate survey the 5-year average was 8.67% and the 10-year was 8.77%, so the term effect is real but smaller than the credit effect. Done when: the payment at the chosen term fits the budget.

  5. Request at least three quotes inside two weeks

    Several mortgage-related credit inquiries within a 14 to 45 day window typically count as one inquiry for scoring. Keeping applications within 14 days is the safe end of that range. Done when: there are three written offers for the same amount and term.

    1 to 2 weeks
  6. Line them up by APR

    APR, the annual percentage rate, includes lender fees as well as the interest rate, so it is the fair basis for comparing offers. Done when: offers are ranked by APR and the cheapest one is obvious.

Same $50,000, two borrowers, ten years

A hypothetical comparison. Borrower A has a 700 FICO score and borrows at 80% CLTV, which matches Bankrate's survey profile, and is quoted 8.5%. Borrower B has a 780 score at 70% CLTV and is priced at 6.75%, the top of the 780+ band The Mortgage Reports cites. Both take $50,000 over 10 years at a fixed rate. Fees are excluded, and the figures are rounded.

Borrower A rate8.50%
Borrower A monthly paymentabout $620
Borrower A total interestabout $24,390
Borrower B rate6.75%
Borrower B monthly paymentabout $574
Borrower B total interestabout $18,890
Differenceabout $46 a month, roughly $5,500 over the loan

The stronger profile saves about $5,500 on the same loan. For reference, Experian prices the same $50,000, 10-year loan at its October 2026 Curinos average of 7.76% at $600.32 a month and $22,037.89 in total interest, which falls between the two borrowers. A borrower in the 640 to 699 band quoted 9.5% would pay about $647 a month and roughly $27,640 in interest.

The quotes themselves can be far apart. Among sample $100,000 offers on Bankrate's tracker, Third Federal quoted 7.290% APR on a 10-year term, Guaranteed Rate quoted 8.221%, and loanDepot quoted 13.000%. All three were for broadly similar profiles. A homeowner who stops at the first quote is effectively choosing a lender at random.

Four ways the first attempt goes wrong

Measuring against the wrong average. In October 2026, Experian, using Curinos data, reported a 7.76% average, while Bankrate's 10-year average was 8.77%. A 7.9% quote looks excellent against one and ordinary against the other. Sign it has happened: a quote seems unusually good or bad and the comparison figure came from a headline. Fix: compare against Bankrate's figure only if the borrower's profile resembles its 700/80% baseline, and otherwise compare against the tier table.

Borrowing to the ceiling. Lenders will often lend to 80% or 85% CLTV, but the best pricing sits at or below 80%, and at some lenders below 75%. Sign: the CLTV calculation lands a point or two above a threshold. Fix: request a quote at the smaller amount as well and compare the APRs.

Comparing rates rather than APRs. A lower rate with heavier fees can cost more than a slightly higher rate without them. Sign: the offers list different fee amounts. Fix: rank them by APR alone.

Spreading applications across a month or more. Inquiries outside the 14 to 45 day window can each count separately against the score. Sign: the first application was weeks ago. Fix: collect the remaining quotes together, within about two weeks.

When a HELOC beats the fixed loan

Once the fixed-loan quotes are in, the obvious next comparison is a home equity line of credit. A HELOC is a variable-rate line, typically priced at prime plus a margin, with a draw period of about ten years followed by a repayment period. Bankrate's $30,000 HELOC average was 7.34% on October 14, 2026 and 7.36% on October 21, against fixed-loan averages close to 8.7%. Introductory rates as low as 4.99% appear at several credit unions before reverting to the standard variable rate. Bankrate's HELOC survey counted five consecutive weekly increases up to October 21.

The gap does not settle the question on its own. Data sources disagree about which product is currently cheaper, which is why we weighed the two when the rates flipped earlier in October. Experian notes that a HELOC can cost less overall if the full line is never drawn or if it is repaid early. That makes it better suited to a renovation paid in stages than to a single lump-sum bill. For anyone clearing a large card balance, the choice comes down to payment discipline, which is covered in our comparison of paying off credit card debt with either product.

It definitely comes down to whether people need that flexibility or predictability.

Sarah Rose
Affinity Federal Credit Union

Is the variable line now cheaper than the fixed loan?

A side-by-side look at HELOC and home equity loan pricing after their rates swapped places in October 2026.

Read the HELOC vs loan breakdown

Questions people ask at this stage

The Mortgage Reports puts the top pricing tier at 740 or higher, with 780+ borrowers cited at 6.50% to 6.75% in early 2026 data. Those levels have probably risen with the market since then. Below 700, borrowers often pay 1 to 2 points more.

Most lenders want the homeowner to keep 15% to 20% equity after the loan, which means a CLTV of 80% to 85%. Some lenders go to 90% for strong borrowers, but the best rates usually require 80% or less.

Shorter terms usually carry a lower rate but a higher monthly payment. In Bankrate's October 21, 2026 survey, the 5-year average was 8.67%, the 10-year 8.77% and the 15-year 8.76%, so the rate gap between terms was narrow.

Multiple mortgage-related inquiries within a 14 to 45 day window are typically counted as one for scoring. Collecting all quotes within about two weeks keeps the borrower inside even the shortest version of that window.

Bankrate attributes October's increase to lenders repricing risk, not to Fed policy. Fixed home equity loans also follow the 10-year Treasury yield rather than the federal funds rate.

Credit tier and CLTV will not change between now and a closing date, so they can be fixed in advance. What varies, by as much as several points in Bankrate's own sample, is which lender is doing the pricing. That makes the third quote worth more than any wait for rates to fall.