A new report indicates homeowners who sold properties during the first quarter of 2017 received average price gains that were the highest in nearly a decade.
According to ATTOM Data Solutions, homeowners who sold during last quarter realized an average price gain of $44,000, or a 24 percent return, on their original purchase price. That represents the highest return in average price gains since the third quarter of 2007.
“The first quarter of 2017 was the most profitable time to be a home seller in nearly a decade, and yet homeowners are continuing to stay put in their homes longer before selling,” ATTOM Data Solutions Senior Vice President Daren Blomquist said in a release. “This counterintuitive combination is in part the result of the low inventory of move-up homes available for current homeowners, while also perpetuating the scarcity of starter homes available for first-time homebuyers.”
ATTOM also found that homeowners are staying put for shorter periods. Homeowners who sold during the first quarter owned for an average 7.97 years, down from the record-high homeownership tenure of 8 years during the fourth quarter of 2016. Between 2000 and 2007, homeownership tenure averaged 4.26 years.
“There are some early signs this inventory logjam may be loosening up in some markets, with the average homeownership tenure down from a year ago in nine of the 66 markets we analyzed, including Memphis, Dallas, Boston, Portland and Tampa,” Blomquist said. “Sky-high potential price gains may be finally prompting more homeowners to sell.”
Markets with the highest average price gains during the first quarter were San Jose, Calif. ($356,500 average price gain); San Francisco ($276,750 average price gain); Los Angeles ($187,000 average price gain); Honolulu ($161,110 average price gain) and Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif. ($160,000 average price gain).
In six markets across the country, homeowners realized an average loss since previous purchase. They were Baton Rouge, La. (10 percent); Huntsville, Ala. (5 percent); Milwaukee (3 percent); Columbia, S.C. (3 percent); Winston-Salem, N.C. (2 percent) and Augusta, Ga. (1 percent).