Home sellers during the second quarter realized a gain of $75,971 on the typical sale, up from the $66,500 in the first quarter and $65,250 from one year ago, according to a report from ATTOM Data Solutions.
ATTOM’s second-quarter 2020 U.S. Home Sales Report said the typical second-quarter profit represented a 36.3 percent return on investment compared with the original purchase price, up from 34.5 percent in the first quarter of 2020 and from 33.7 percent from one year ago.
“The housing market across the United States pulled something of a high-wire act in the second quarter, surging forward despite the encroaching economic headwinds resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic,” ATTOM Chief Product Officer Todd Teta said in a release. “Profit margins hit new records as prices kept climbing, with few indications that the impact of the virus would topple the market.
“No doubt, a lot of the ongoing prosperity resulted from gains seen before the pandemic started racing through the country in February and March,” Teta said. “Indeed, there have been recent signs of prices flattening out or dropping across significant parts of the country, and the economic toll from the virus continues to be a major issue. But the second-quarter results showed continuing strength in most parts of the nation.”
According to the report, second-quarter typical profit margins rose in 81 (78 percent) of 104 metropolitan statistical areas. The biggest annual increases were in Spokane, Wash. (76 percent); Columbus, Ohio (47 percent); St. Louis (31.4 percent); Chattanooga, Tenn. (43.4 percent); and Indianapolis (41.9 percent).
The report found profit margins dropped in 23 of the 104 metro areas analyzed (22 percent). The biggest decreases were in Pittsburgh (20.9 percent); Modesto, Calif. (51.1 percent); Honolulu, Hawaii (36.2 percent); Greeley, Colo. (35.4 percent); and Naples, Fla. (16.7 percent).
The biggest second-quart increases in median home prices were in Detroit (27.2 percent); Boise, Idaho (17.5 percent); Spokane, Wash. (16.2 percent); New Haven, Conn. (14.4 percent); and Birmingham, Ala. (13.3 percent).