[GNC] how to track home equity with mortgage loan Gnucash 4.2

[Nathan Falco]

Hello,

I am a "knee deep" Gnucash user meaning I have a fair grasp of the basic accounting principles and functions of the program. I successfully added my house as a fixed asset, and added my mortgage as a liability. I have also set up my mortgage payments as a scheduled transaction between my checking account, liability account, and expense accounts.

It really bugs me that my home equity account only shows the appraisal value of my home and the original loan principal balance. Every time I make a mortgage payment I am reducing my liability and thus increasing my equity. I cannot figure out how to track that. For argument sake let's use this example:

Fixed Asset Opening Balance:
Fixed Asset: First home ($200,000 appraisal value)
Liability: 30 year mortgage ($150,000 principal balance)
Equity: Initial Home equity ($50,000 net value)

Monthly mortgage payment:
$1,000 debit: checking account
$600 credit: loan interest and escrow fees
$400 credit: mortgage loan principal balance

What I want to see happen when the first mortgage payment is recorded:
Fixed Asset: First home ($200,000 appraisal value)
Current Asset: Checking account debit ($400 toward loan principal)
Liability: 30 year mortgage decrease ($149,600 principal balance)
Equity: Initial Home equity increase ($50,400 net value)

If I credit the Home Equity account once per month, what account is missing for me to debit?