The gains are not wiped out, they're just not liquid. We bought our first house about seven years ago and are about to sell it. The house appreciated almost 75

The gains are not wiped out, they're just not liquid. We bought our first house about seven years ago and are about to sell it. The house appreciated almost 75% over that span of time. We bought a new house in the same price range. I'm just transferring the appreciation of the the first house to the second house. But since it's a higher real dollar amount, I was able to put a much higher percentage down on the new house and get a better total cost of the loan as a result. I still have all of the gains I made, even if they're locked in equity in the house, and was able to leverage them for additional value in reduced interest paid. Because I had more equity from the first house, it also made it easier for me to outbid other bidders, because I didn't have the same debt-to-income constraints they did. Even if the gains aren't liquid, homeowners gain at the expense of non-homeowners.