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When large investment firms like Carlyle make a significant move, it’s often a signal that they see something changing in the market. Following signals from companies like Blackstone, Carlyle and BlackRock can help determine what is happening in the upper echelons of finance and may trickle down to the rest of us.

Carlyle recently announced it will buy up to $300 million of equity-sharing home loans from Unison. Unison has been one of the leaders in rolling out home equity investment products, allowing homeowners to use their equity without refinancing. Unison's Equity Sharing Home Loan is a ten-year loan at below-market interest rates. Essentially, the loan offers cash in exchange for a portion of the future increase in your home’s value. These loans have interest-only payments.

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As part of the agreement, Carlyle also invested in Unison, allowing the company to expand the program. The home loan product looks to solve a key issue in the marketplace currently impacting homeowners.

Second-quarter data from the Federal Reserve puts homeowner equity at a record high of over $35 trillion. However, although interest rates are dropping, they aren’t close to where many people obtained their first mortgages. The lock-in effect happens when people refuse to sell their homes because of the attractive mortgage rates. This also happens on the refinancing side. As interest rates climbed, refinancing applications have dropped dramatically over the past several years.

This makes home equity loans, home equity lines of credit and now home equity investments (HEIs) attractive alternatives for people who need access to that equity. "Our collaboration with Carlyle enables the Unison Equity Sharing Home Loan to turn dormant home equity into an active tool for financial empowerment for millions of Americans," said Thomas Sponholtz, founder and CEO of Unison.

Unison currently has over $1.8 billion in assets under management and has worked with over 12,000 households. HEIs are still a small part of the overall mortgage market. A variety of startups, including Unlock and Point, offer similar products. Not all of the $35 trillion home equity homeowners have can be utilized for a loan. As of the second quarter, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Mortgage Technology estimated the value of tappable home equity, the amount of equity an owner can access while still keeping a 20% equity cushion, at $11.5 trillion.