Home Sellers’ 1Q Price Gains Average $57,500; Home Tenure Dips
ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., said homeowners who sold in the first quarter realized an average price gain of $57,500 since purchase, representing an average 31.5 percent return on the purchase price.
The company’s Q1 2019 U.S. Home Sales Report also said homeowners who sold in the first quarter had owned an average of 8.05 years, down slightly from a record-high average homeownership tenure of 8.17 years in the fourth quarter but still up from 7.75 years a year ago. Homeownership tenure averaged 4.21 years nationwide between Q1 2000 and Q3 2007, prior to the Great Recession.
“We are starting to see homes sales prices and profit margins softening for the nation, and the average homeownership tenure did see a slight dip from last quarter,” said Todd Teta, chief product officer with ATTOM Data Solutions. “However, home prices are still above pre-recession peaks in 59 percent of local markets, and as the buying season starts to kick into gear, the next few months may provide even more answers to the question of whether a lasso is indeed around the market or if the recent trend is a temporary bump in the ride.”
ATTOM said homeowners who sold in the first quarter realized an average home price gain since purchase of $57,500, down from an average gain of $60,000 the fourth quarter but up from an average gain of $56,733 a year ago.
Among 123 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed in the report, those with the highest average home seller returns in the first quarter were San Jose (84.1 percent); San Francisco (70.9 percent); Seattle (63.1 percent); Modesto, Calif. (59.7 percent); and Salt Lake City (56.5 percent).
Other report findings:
–All-cash sales represented 28.0 percent of all single family and condo sales in the first quarter, up from 27.7 percent of all sales in the previous quarter, but down from 28.9 percent of all sales a year ago.
–Among major metropolitan areas with a population of at least 1 million, those with the longest average homeownership tenure for home sellers who sold in the first quarter were Hartford, Conn. (12.52 years); Boston (12.36 years); Providence, R.I., (11.15 years); San Francisco (10.40 years); and San Jose (10.27 years).
–The share of single-family home and condo sales sold to institutional investors (entities buying at least 10 properties in a calendar year) fell to 1.8 percent in the first quarter, down from 3.7 percent in the previous quarter and down from 2.2 percent a year ago.
–Total distressed sales accounted for 14.2 percent of all single-family and condo sales in the first quarter, up from 12.9 percent in the previous quarter but down from 15.2 percent a year ago.
–Sales to FHA buyers represented 10.9 percent of all U.S. single-family and condo sales in Q1 2019, up from 10.8 percent of all sales in the previous quarter but down from 11.8 percent a year ago, marking the eighth consecutive quarter with annual decreases.
