RealtyTrac: Home Sellers See Biggest Price Gains Since 2007

RealtyTrac, Irvine, Calif., released its Year-End 2015 U.S. Home Sales Report, which showed U.S. home sellers realized an average price gain since purchase of 11 percent ($20,378), the biggest average price gain for U.S. home sellers since 2007.

The 11 percent average price gain in 2015 marked the second consecutive year in which U.S. home sellers saw gains, following six consecutive years in which U.S. home sellers realized average price losses.

“With some local market exceptions, the 2015 home sales data paints the picture of a properly functioning U.S. housing market where homeowners can once again count on real estate as an appreciating asset–a long-touted axiom soundly debunked as ironclad truth between 2008 and 2013,” said RealtyTrac Vice President Daren Blomquist. “This return to consistent home price gains for sellers should reinforce confidence in real estate in 2016 and produce another year of solid sales volume as homeowners cash out their equity gains.”

Among 155 U.S. counties analyzed, home sellers realized highest average price gains in San Mateo County, Calif., (65 percent average home price gains); Alameda County, Calif. (64 percent average gain); Santa Clara County, Calif. (63 percent average gain); Middlesex County, N.J. (52 percent average gain); and Multnomah County, Ore. (49 percent average gain).

Home sellers in 2015 realized average home price losses since purchase in 19 of the 155 counties analyzed (12 percent), led by Mobile County, Ala. (16 percent average home price loss); Cuyahoga County, Ohio, (13 percent average loss); Baltimore City County, Md. (13 percent average loss); Burlington County, N.J. (12 percent average loss); and Montgomery County, Ohio (9 percent average loss).

The report said the U.S. median home price at the end of 2015 was $206,500, up 10 percent from a year ago. December represented the 46th consecutive month with a year-over-year increase in the U.S. median home price. Among 87 major metropolitan statistical areas analyzed for the report, 79 (91 percent) posted a year-over-year increase in median home price at the end of 2015.

RealtyTrac said among the nation’s 46 markets with a population of at least 1 million, those with the biggest year-over-year increase in home prices were St. Louis (19 percent increase), Raleigh, N.C. (17 percent increase), Detroit (17 percent increase) and Tampa (15 percent increase), with Denver, Seattle, San Jose and Providence, Rhode Island, all posting increases of 13 percent.

Eight markets (9 percent) posted a year-over-year decrease in median home sales price at the end of 2015, with Houston the only market among the 46 with a population of at least 1 million to post a decrease (down 2 percent in December from a year ago). Other markets posting a year-over-year decrease in median home price were Bridgeport, Conn. (down 8 percent), Winston-Salem, N.C. (down 6 percent), Dayton, Ohio (down 5 percent), Augusta, Ga. (down 4 percent), Little Rock, Ark. (down 1 percent), Harrisburg, Pa. (down 1 percent), and York, Pa. (down 1 percent).

The report also noted 33 (38 percent) posted new highs for median home prices in 2015, and 20 of the 46 metro areas with a population of at least 1 million (43 percent) posted new highs.

Among 46 markets with a population of at least 1 million, those with home prices still furthest below previous peaks were Las Vegas (34 percent below previous peak in June 2006), Birmingham (31 percent below previous peak in July 2007), Orlando (31 percent below previous peak in June 2006), Miami (28 percent below previous peak in June 2007), and Chicago (27 percent below previous peak in July 2007).