A decade after the financial crisis, many Americans are still struggling to recover

[FBaggins]

5. Much of that borrowing is unlikely now

It wasn’t just that people had equity that they could tap... it was that they had equity and that rates were falling. You could pull tens of thousands of dollars out of your home and still save money every month because the new (larger) mortgage actually had a lower monthly payment.

That’s as close to “free money” as most are likely to see. Of course, we’ve seen the consequences when the market turns around.

This time around, equity is growing for much of the country, but there’s little appeal to refinance and take out cash, because rates are rising.