U.S. home sellers in 2019 realized a price gain of $65,500 on the typical sale, up from $58,100 in 2018 and up from $50,027 two years ago, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ 2019 U.S. Home Sales Report.
The report said last year’s average profit was the highest since 2006, representing a 34 percent return on investment (ROI) compared with the original purchase price, up from 31.4 percent last year and up from 27.4 percent in 2017.
“The nation’s housing boom kept roaring along in 2019 as prices hit a new record, returning ever-higher profits to home sellers and posing ever-greater challenges for buyers seeking bargains,” ATTOM Chief Product Officer Todd Teta said in a release. “In short, it was a great year to be a seller.
“But there were signs that the market was losing some steam last year, as profits and profit margins increased at the slowest pace since 2011,” Teta said. “While low mortgage rates are propping up prices, the declining progress suggests some uncertainty going into the 2020 buying season.”
The report found both raw profits and ROI have improved nationwide for eight straight years. However, last year’s gain in ROI – up less than 3 percent – was the smallest since 2011.
ATTOM said the metropolitan areas with the highest home-seller ROIs in 2019 were San Jose, Calif. (82.8 percent); San Francisco (72.8 percent); Seattle (65.6 percent); Merced, Calif. (63.2 percent); and Salem, Ore. (62.1 percent).
According to the report, the metropolitan areas with the biggest year-over-year increases in median home prices in 2019 were South Bend, Ind. (up 18.4 percent); Boise City, Idaho (up 12.6 percent); Spokane, Wash. (up 10.9 percent); Atlantic City, N,J. (up 10.6 percent); and Salt Lake City (up 9.6 percent).
During 2019, home prices reached new peaks in 105 of the 134 metropolitan areas analyzed by ATTOM, including in Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, the report found.
ATTOM said homeowners who sold in the fourth quarter of 2019 had owned their homes an average of 8.21 years, up from 8.08 years in the previous quarter and up from 7.95 years in the fourth quarter of 2018.