<prompt> Human: I just heard a colleague griping that their home value had gone up by 30k and thus taxes had increased along with it. Hes close to retirement and has no plans to move or sell, so this actually comes off as bad news to him! How does home revaluation work?  <response>: Your mortgage amount doesnt change - you still owe 150k. However if you sold today at 240,000 200,000 x 120, then you would walk away with 90k after paying off your mortgage, so your equity has actually gone up by 80. Thats the power of leverage. 