According to HousingWire, Figure has released some fascinating data on what they call the sandwich generation, those homeowners between ages 40 and 60. What caught my attention is that this group carries the heaviest monthly debt load of any age bracket, averaging about $5,350 in total obligations each month. These folks are managing mortgages, credit cards, personal loans, and often medical bills all at once, which really paints a picture of their financial squeeze.
What's interesting is that despite this heavy debt burden, sandwich-generation borrowers show really strong credit fundamentals. They're averaging a FICO score well above the national average and have an estimated $320,000 in home equity each, which is notably higher than what the typical American homeowner has accumulated. The majority of them are earning six-figure incomes, and many are bringing in well above $200,000 annually. So we're really talking about financially successful people who are cash-flow stressed, not credit-challenged.
Figure's analysis of over 500,000 HELOC applications found that nearly half of their sandwich-generation customers are using home equity products to pay down consumer debt, which makes sense when you think about it. These are people juggling college costs for their kids, helping support aging parents, handling major home repairs and renovations, and trying to save for retirement all at the same time. When you layer those competing priorities on top of higher interest rate environments, tapping into home equity becomes an attractive solution.
The data shows this group represents a massive opportunity in the home equity market. Figure's CEO points out that sandwich-generation borrowers make up over 40 percent of HELOC applicants, and they're attractive borrowers from a lending standpoint because their credit and equity positions are solid even though their monthly cash flow is stretched. He describes them as the "upper-middle mass affluent" market, and with a total addressable market of roughly $35 trillion in home equity to tap, there's clearly room for continued growth in this sector.
What I'm seeing locally here in the Bay Area is that this sandwich generation dynamic is even more pronounced than the national data might suggest. Our area has particularly high costs of living, expensive real estate, and strong income levels, which concentrates this exact profile. These are successful professionals who've built real wealth in their homes but face some of the highest child-rearing costs and healthcare expenses in the nation. They're exactly the kind of borrowers who need flexible access to their home equity without being forced into full refinances at today's higher rates, and that's becoming an increasingly important part of how families stay stable financially while managing multiple generations.
