The two numbers to nail down first are your current home's real value and your remaining mortgage balance, since gross equity is simply the gap between them, before closing costs, typically 4 to 6 percent, come off the top.
What is left after that depends on the next home: a paid-off condo frees up nearly all of it, while a similarly priced smaller house frees up far less, so the destination matters as much as the sale price.
Joel Dyck calculates both sides of this before a client commits to a specific next home. Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.