What does a $70,000 HELOC cost per month now that interest rates are lower?

If you were looking to borrow a large amount of money from your home but had a variable rate product that could change each month, would it be worth doing? With your home serving as collateral, this inherently sounds a bit risky. But what if interest rates were declining again, as they are now after the Federal Reserve cut rates? And what if it was with a product, in this case a home equity line of credit (HELOC), that saw rates drop by more than two full percentage points in just a year?

These are the questions homeowners in need of extra financing find themselves grappling with now, especially after the average HELOC rate fell below 8% in recent days. For comparison purposes, that same rate was 9.99% in September 2024. That makes a HELOC not only one of the least expensive ways to borrow home equity now, but it’s also one of the cheapest ways to borrow money – period.

And if you’re looking to borrow a large, five-figure amount like $70,000, you’ll want to keep your interest costs to a minimum. To accurately determine the value of a $70,000 HELOC now that interest rates are lower, then, it helps to calculate your potential monthly costs. Below, we’ll break down the math.

See how low your current HELOC rate could be here.

What does a $70,000 HELOC cost per month now that interest rates are lower?

Calculating the interest on a HELOC can be difficult thanks to the variable rate. What you pay this month can change next month, as rates here are influenced by market conditions. Using today’s average rate, here’s what it would cost over two common repayment periods, on the assumption that rates remain consistent:

• 10-year HELOC at 7.88%: $844.86 per month
• 15-year HELOC at 7.88%: $664.12 per month

To better appreciate the cost-effective opportunity a HELOC now represents, here’s what it would have cost back in February:

• 10-year HELOC at 8.28%: $859.69 per month
• 15-year HELOC at 8.28%: $680.32 per month

And, going back to last fall, here’s what a $70,000 HELOC would have cost then:

• 10-year HELOC at 8.69%: $875.03 per month
• 15-year HELOC at 8.69%: $697.14 per month

Comparing the costs of a $70,000 HELOC now to last October, borrowers would save about $30 monthly with the 10-year repayment plan and about $33 monthly with the 15-year one. Thanks to the variable rate, those savings materialize independently. No refinancing or refinancing closing costs will be involved, as they would, for example, if homeowners wanted to take advantage of a lower home equity loan rate. And with additional interest rate cuts from the Fed now expected for later in October and, potentially, December, too, this could be the smart (and affordable) way to borrow equity now.

Explore your current HELOC options here.

The bottom line

A variable rate may not always be valuable for borrowers, but in the current interest rate climate, in which rates are cooling and additional cuts look imminent, it can be. A HELOC worth $70,000, then, may be worth pursuing for homeowners in need of extra financing right now. Just be sure to calculate future costs against a variety of rate scenarios (including those in which rates are higher) to best determine long-term affordability.