ATTOM Data Solutions [1] reported Wednesday that sellers in 2019 saw a home-price gain of $65,500 on a typical sale—an increase from 2018’s $58,100 and 2017’s $50,037.
This is the highest profit level recorded in the U.S. since 2006.
A profit of $65,500 for an average home seller is a 34% return on investment compared to the original purchase price. This is an increase of 31.4% in 2018 and a 27.4% jump from 2017.
“The nation’s housing boom kept roaring along in 2019 as prices hit a new record, returning ever-higher profits to home sellers and posing ever-greater challenges for buyers seeking bargains. In short, it was a great year to be a seller,” said Todd Teta, Chief Product Officer at ATTOM Data Solutions. “But there were signs that the market was losing some steam last year, as profits and profit margins increased at the slowest pace since 2011. While low mortgage rates are propping up prices, the declining progress suggests some uncertainty going into the 2020 buying season.”
Of the cities with a population higher than 200,000, markets in the western states recorded the highest return on investments.
San Jose, California, reported a 72.8% ROI in 2019, while Seattle (65.6%); Merced, California (63.2%); and Salem, Oregon (62.1%) were close behind. These four markets also let the nation in ROI during 2018.
Average home prices rose 6.2% in 2019 to an all-time high of $258,000. Home-price appreciation last year bested the 4.5% increase in from 2017 to 2018, but came short of the 7.1% hike from 2016 to 2017.
South Bend, Indiana, had the highest year-over-year increase in average home prices at 18.4%. Boise, Idaho, came in second with annual home price appreciation at 12.6%.
Spokane, Washington (10.9%); Atlantic City, New Jersey (10.6%); and Salt Lake City (9.6%) also had some of the highest appreciation rates.
Additionally, ATTOM reported that homeowners who sold homes in Q4 2019 owned their homes an average of 8.21 years—an increase from the prior quarters 8.08 years Q4 2018’s 7.95 years.
The latest reading represents the longest average home-seller tenure since Q1 2000.