Home Seller Profits Hit 10-Year High

Home sellers realized an average home price gain of $54,000 in the fourth quarter, the highest profit since before the Great Recession, said ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif.

The Company’s Year-End and 4Q 2017 U.S. Home Sales Report said average home price gains rose from $53,732 in the third quarter and from $47,133 a year ago to the highest since Q3 2007. That $54,000 average home seller profit represented an average 29.7 percent return on investment compared to the original purchase price, up from 28.8 percent in the previous quarter and up from 26.8 percent a year ago to the highest average home seller ROI since Q3 2007.

At the same time, ATTOM reported homeowners who sold in the fourth quarter had owned their homes an average of 8.18 years, up from 8.12 years in the previous quarter and up from 7.78 years a year ago to the longest average home seller tenure as far back as data is available, Q1 2000.

“It’s the most profitable time to sell a home in more than 10 years yet homeowners are staying put longer than we’ve ever seen,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president with ATTOM Data Solutions. “While home sellers on the West Coast are realizing the biggest profits, rapid home price appreciation in red state markets is rivaling that of the high-flying coastal markets and producing sizable profits for home sellers in those middle-American markets as well.”

Among 155 metropolitan statistical areas, those with the highest average home seller ROI were San Jose, Calif. (90.9 percent ROI); San Francisco (73.3 percent); Merced, Calif. (64.6 percent); Seattle (64.4 percent); and Santa Cruz, Calif. (59.8 percent).

ATTOM reported the U.S. median home price in 2017 at $235,000, up 8.3 percent from 2016 to a new high. Annual home price appreciation in 2017 slowed slightly compared to the 8.5 percent in 2016.