Americans owed $481 billion on home equity lines of credit at the end of the third quarter, up $59 billion from a year earlier, as homeowners increasingly borrowed against their properties. The New York Fed reported a $23 billion quarterly increase, the largest since 2005. Benzinga’s analysis puts the annual growth rate at about 14%, while the number of open HELOC accounts reached 13.35 million. Jefferies sees an opportunity for Home Depot ($HD) and Lowe’s ($LOW). Its analysts argue that homeowners with inexpensive older mortgages have a strong reason to renovate instead of moving and replacing those loans with more expensive financing. According to the firm, HELOC rates have fallen by more than 2.5 percentage points over two years to around 7.5%. That puts them much closer to the roughly 7.2% cost of a new mortgage than the historically wider gap. Jefferies estimates that home improvement has accounted for about 40% of HELOC borrowing and expects renovation spending to grow into 2027. The New York Fed’s broader report also showed household debt reaching $19.1 trillion, with 5% in some stage of delinquency. The borrowing boom could support demand for kitchens, roofs and larger renovation projects. It also leaves households exposed to variable interest rates, making the cost of staying put an important part of the housing story.