The Monroe model home at The Reserve at May Hill on September 5, 2018 in Alexandria Virginia. (Photo by Benjamin C. Tankersley/For The Washington Post via Getty Images) Benjamin C. Tankersley | The Washington Post | Getty Images

The big gains in home values over the last two years are starting to slow down, but U.S. homeowners are still reaping the rewards. As prices continue to rise, so too does the amount of home equity available for homeowners to tap; and it has now reached a record sum. U.S. homeowners were sitting on more than $6 trillion worth of collective tappable home equity at the end of June, according to Black Knight. Tappable equity is the amount most lenders will allow borrowers to cash out, while still keeping 20 percent equity in the home. Borrowers gained $636 billion in the first half of 2018, pushing the total amount to nearly three times as much equity as there was at the housing market's bottom in 2012. It is also 21 percent more than there was at the pre-crisis peak in 2006.

Approximately 44 million homeowners with mortgages can now access cash through cash-out refinances or home equity lines of credit (HELOCs). On average, per person, that's about $138,000. But home equity lending is not increasing as much as one might imagine, given the potential windfall. Homeowners withdrew about $65 billion in home equity in the second quarter of this year. That's an increase from the first quarter, but seasonally expected as homeowners tend to do more upgrades in the spring and summer. The draw was actually down 3 percent from the same period a year ago. Homeowners withdrew just 1.13 percent of tappable equity, the lowest share since the start of 2014. Part of the reason may be that homeowners today remember what happened to the housing market a decade ago and have no desire to treat their homes like ATMs. Millions of borrowers ended up underwater on their mortgages, when home prices plummeted. But another factor is likely rising interest rates. "We do see evidence that rising interest rates are generating some headwinds," said Ben Graboske, executive vice president of Black Knight Data & Analytics. "At this point last year, homeowners were tapping 17 percent more of available equity than today, which suggest that if rates on cash-out refinances and HELOCs had held steady, we'd see about $13 billion more equity being accessed." While some homeowners are still highly conservative, housing wealth does appear to be driving consumer confidence. The preliminary September University of Michigan consumer confidence index jumped more than expected. "Gains in household wealth were cited by near record numbers, primarily due to increases in stock holdings and rising home values," according to the report.