--- title: Increased equity - should you spend it? description: It's very tempting for home owners to make use of the higher house prices and increased equity. But a sure fire way of increasing equity is by reducing debt image: https://blog.nzhl.co.nz/hubfs/houseprices-525x350.jpg --- [0800 030 646](tel:0800030646) - Search - [Contact Us](https://nzhl.co.nz/contact-us/) - [Find Us](https://nzhl.co.nz/find-us/) - [Client Login](https://nzhl.co.nz/login/) [![NZHL](https://blog.nzhl.co.nz/hubfs/Nzhl_January2019%20Theme/Images/logo-footer-nzhl.png)](https://nzhl.co.nz/) - [Home Loans](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans) - - [Change to NZHL](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/switch-to-nzhl/) - [Buying your first home](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/first-home/) - [Buying your next home](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/next-home/) - [Interest rates](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/interest-rates/) - [Home Loan calculators](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/tools-calculators/) - [FAQ](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/faq/) - - [How much could I borrow?](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/tools-calculators/) - [Where's my nearest office?](https://nzhl.co.nz/find-us/) - [How much deposit do I need?](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/first-home/getting-a-deposit/) - [Insurance](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance) - - [Your Life](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/your-life/) - [Your Health](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/your-health/) - [Your Home and Car](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/your-home/) - [Your Income](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/your-income/) - [Request a quote](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/request-a-quote/) - [FAQ](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/faq/) - - [NEW! Reducing Life Cover](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/your-life/) - [Request a quote](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/request-a-quote/) - [Make a claim](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/make-a-claim/) - [About NZHL](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl) - - [In the Community](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/in-the-community/) - [Head Office](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/head-office/) - [Media Centre](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/media-centre/) - [Work with us](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/work-with-us/) - [FAQ](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/faq/) - - [Our sponsorships](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/in-the-community/) - [Job opportunities with NZHL](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/work-with-us/) - [Why change to NZHL](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/switch-to-nzhl/) - [Articles](https://nzhl.co.nz/articles) - - [Finances](https://nzhl.co.nz/topic/finances/) - [Insurance](https://nzhl.co.nz/topic/insurance/) - [Lifestyle](https://nzhl.co.nz/topic/lifestyle/) - [Property](https://nzhl.co.nz/topic/property/) - [NZHL News](https://nzhl.co.nz/topic/nzhl-news/) - - [Buying your first home](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/first-home/) - [Search](https://nzhl.co.nz/search) - [Home Loans](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans) - [Change to NZHL](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/switch-to-nzhl/) - [Buying your first home](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/first-home/) - [Buying your next home](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/next-home/) - [Interest rates](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/interest-rates/) - [Home Loan calculators](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/tools-calculators/) - [FAQ](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/faq/) - [Insurance](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance) - [Your Life](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/your-life/) - [Your Health](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/your-health/) - [Your Home and Car](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/your-home/) - [Your Income](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/your-income/) - [Request a quote](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/request-a-quote/) - [FAQ](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/faq/) - [About NZHL](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl) - [In the Community](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/in-the-community/) - [Head Office](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/head-office/) - [Media Centre](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/media-centre/) - [Work with us](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/work-with-us/) - [FAQ](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/faq/) - [Articles](https://nzhl.co.nz/articles) - [Finances](https://nzhl.co.nz/topic/finances/) - [Insurance](https://nzhl.co.nz/topic/insurance/) - [Lifestyle](https://nzhl.co.nz/topic/lifestyle/) - [Property](https://nzhl.co.nz/topic/property/) - [NZHL News](https://nzhl.co.nz/topic/nzhl-news/) ![houseprices-525x350](https://blog.nzhl.co.nz/hubfs/houseprices-525x350.jpg) #### Increased equity - should you spend it? - Mark Sims - 5th of August 2016 #### I read an article in Rotorua’s Daily Post newspaper titled, “Home Owners Sitting Pretty”. The article starts off by saying, “Rotorua home owners can sit back feeling more financially comfortable with news property values have skyrocketed almost 25 percent in the past year”. Mmmm so you have more equity? Well on paper at least! But is now the time to borrow against that increased equity? It is very tempting for home owners to make use of the increase of house prices to top up their home loans and of course the banks are rubbing their hands together waiting to throw money at you. If you can use equity to borrow against something that increases in value that’s great as that’s leverage. If you borrow that extra money for something that doesn’t increase in value and also doesn’t provide any return, you’ll simply add more expense to your monthly budget and your household finances. By doing this the only thing rising could be your stress levels! Rising values are only one way of increasing your equity and we cannot always rely on this.  A sure fire way of increasing equity, however, is by reducing debt as fast as possible which we can help with. It is worth [making an appointment](http://www.nzhomeloans.co.nz/Contact+Us.html)to see a New Zealand Home Loans stress manager to see just how we can help you achieve your goals and reduce your debt. *The information contained in this article is of a general nature and should not be taken as advice. It reflects the opinions of the writer only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of New Zealand Home Loans.* [![New call-to-action](https://hubspot-no-cache-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/5029003/15f9b75f-b0b2-4fde-a7e7-54af0db03053.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/5029003/15f9b75f-b0b2-4fde-a7e7-54af0db03053) - Mark Sims *Author* **Share this article** - LinkedIn - Facebook - Twitter - Google - Reddit - Tumblr ##### Related Articles Get in Touch With Us ##### Popular Posts [![Should you break your loan?](https://blog.nzhl.co.nz/hs-fs/hubfs/shutterstock_1233077740.jpg?width=300&name=shutterstock_1233077740.jpg)](https://blog.nzhl.co.nz/articles/should-you-break-your-loan) [**Should you break your loan?**](https://blog.nzhl.co.nz/articles/should-you-break-your-loan) 11 June 2015 In my recent article I spoke about the[impact of the OCR if you are floating](http://www.nzhl.co.nz/are-you-benefiting-from-the-ocr-drop/). Today I’ll... [![5 reasons lenders decline mortgage applications](https://blog.nzhl.co.nz/hs-fs/hubfs/applicationdeclined-525x350.jpg?width=300&name=applicationdeclined-525x350.jpg)](https://blog.nzhl.co.nz/articles/5-reasons-lenders-decline-mortgage-applications) [**5 reasons lenders decline mortgage applications**](https://blog.nzhl.co.nz/articles/5-reasons-lenders-decline-mortgage-applications) 24 March 2016 There is nothing worse than dreaming of your own home, putting time and effort into... [**Negotiating Tips Every Home Buyer Should Know**](https://blog.nzhl.co.nz/articles/negotiating-tips-every-home-buyer-should-know) 29 July 2015 The old saying is that in real estate, everything is negotiable. But is it really? [![Credit Card Tips](https://blog.nzhl.co.nz/hs-fs/hubfs/creditcards-487x350.jpg?width=300&name=creditcards-487x350.jpg)](https://blog.nzhl.co.nz/articles/credit-card-tips) [**Credit Card Tips**](https://blog.nzhl.co.nz/articles/credit-card-tips) 14 January 2016 In today’s increasingly online world, credit cards are becoming less of a luxury and more... [0800 030 646](tel:0800030646) - Search - [Contact Us](https://nzhl.co.nz/contact-us/) - [Find Us](https://nzhl.co.nz/find-us/) - [Client Login](https://nzhl.co.nz/login/) - [Home Loans](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans) - [Change to NZHL](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/switch-to-nzhl/) - [Buying your first home](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/first-home/) - [Buying your next home](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/next-home/) - [Interest rates](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/interest-rates/) - [Home Loan calculators](https://nzhl.co.nz/home-loans/tools-calculators/) - [FAQ](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/faq/) - [Insurance](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance) - [Your Life](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/your-life/) - [Your Health](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/your-health/) - [Your Home and Car](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/your-home/) - [Your Income](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/your-income/) - [Request a quote](https://nzhl.co.nz/insurance/request-a-quote/) - [FAQ](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/faq/) - [Why NZHL](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/) - [In the Community](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/in-the-community/) - [Head Office](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/head-office/) - [Media Centre](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/media-centre/) - [Work with us](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/work-with-us/) - [FAQ](https://nzhl.co.nz/about-nzhl/faq/) - [Articles](https://nzhl.co.nz/articles) - [Finances](https://nzhl.co.nz/topic/finances/) - [Insurance](https://nzhl.co.nz/topic/insurance/) - [Lifestyle](https://nzhl.co.nz/topic/lifestyle/) - [Property](https://nzhl.co.nz/topic/property/) - [NZHL News](https://nzhl.co.nz/topic/nzhl-news/) - ##### Be social & follow us - - - - **Head Office** NZHL PO Box 161 903 Victoria Street Hamilton 3204 **Freephone** [0800 332 837](tel:0800332837) **Email** [info@nzhl.co.nz](mailto:info@nzhl.co.nz) ![NZHL](https://blog.nzhl.co.nz/hubfs/Nzhl_January2019%20Theme/Images/logo-footer-nzhl.png) **Disclaimer** *The information contained on this website is general in nature and is not intended as advice. It may not be relevant to individual circumstances and before making any investment, insurance or financial planning decision; you should consult a professional adviser. Copies of our disclosure statements are available on request, free of charge.* **[Our Privacy Policy](https://nzhl.co.nz/privacy-policy/)** © 2019 [NZHL](https://nzhl.co.nz). All rights reserved.