A new report shows that a borrower who bought a median-priced home in 2004 and held it for nine years – the average tenure in a home – would now have $28,114 in equity (including combined price appreciation and paying down mortgage principle). Home owners who purchased in 2006 and 2007 – during the peak of the market – are “nearly in positive equity” territory. For Those Who Held On, Equity Has Returned