Equity is simply current value minus what is still owed, so two neighbours with identical houses can have very different equity positions depending on when they bought and how much they have paid down. A homeowner who bought a decade ago has likely benefited from price growth on top of years of principal payments, while a recent buyer has mostly just their down payment and whatever the market has added since.
The part that catches people off guard is that public records and automated estimates price a house as it was built, not as it stands today. A finished basement, a permitted secondary suite or a renovated kitchen can add real equity that an algorithm never sees because it was never filed with the City of Saskatoon as a permit, which is exactly the gap a hand-reviewed valuation is built to close.
Before assuming a number, a homeowner planning to sell within the next year should get an actual figure rather than guessing from an online tool. Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.