Is a HELOC or a home equity loan the better option this April?

MoneyWatch: Managing Your Money Is a HELOC or a home equity loan the better option this April? We may receive commissions from some links to products on this page. Promotions are subject to availability and retailer terms. .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-moneywatch.jpg'); } By Angelica Leicht Angelica Leicht Senior Editor, Managing Your Money Angelica Leicht is the senior editor for the Managing Your Money section for CBSNews.com, where she writes and edits articles on a range of personal finance topics. Angelica previously held editing roles at The Simple Dollar, Interest, HousingWire and other financial publications. Read Full Bio Angelica Leicht April 3, 2026 / 12:59 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Before you tap into your home equity, it's important to know which borrowing product is best right now. Seng Kui Lim/Getty Images Borrowing against your home rarely looks as appealing as it does right now. After years of higher-than-average interest rates that made tapping home equity feel like a financial gamble, the calculus has shifted — and shifted meaningfully. For example, the average rate on a home equity line of credit (HELOC) has fallen more than two percentage points since September 2024, and home equity loan rates have followed a similar trajectory. At the same time, homeowners are sitting on trillions in tappable equity, allowing the average borrower to tap into the funds they need without refinancing their homes.That last point matters more than it might seem on the surface. Today's mortgage rates are still hovering near 6.5%, so homeowners who secured a home loan when rates were sitting at historic lows of about 3% have little incentive to refinance in order to access cash. A second mortgage, though, whether in the form of either a HELOC or a home equity loan, sidesteps that problem entirely. With these borrowing tools, you keep your existing mortgage intact and simply borrow against your equ...