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Where are Homes Selling for Millions?

homesWith multiple buyers competing and inventory drum-tight, landing the house they love is a lot like winning the lottery. But for those happy buyers who snag the listing, they’re lusting, there are some who might score big again when (and if) they decide to sell. And by “big” we mean making a million dollars or more.

How many sellers struck it rich with such a sizeable ROI since the century turned? PropertyShark wondered the same thing and conducted a study to find out. The company analyzed 31 cities—it’s actually a top-25 list, but the ties upped it a tad—where the most homeowners became millionaires simply by purchasing a house sometime before 2001 for less than $1 million and then selling it after 2001 for $1 million or more. The study only considered the real estate aspect and didn’t account for the homeowners’ financial status and other wealth factors.

The study found that after 2001, 381 people snared millionaire status by selling their homes in San Francisco. Although it has double the population as the Golden Gate City, Manhattan sat in second place, with 335 millionaires. Brooklyn (281 millionaires) and Los Angeles (280 millionaires) were neck and neck, with the New York borough barely grabbing third place.

Seven Silicon Valley cities (San Jose, Redwood City, San Mateo, and San Carlos, among them) added a total of 332 millionaires. Four small cities skirting Washington, D.C., tacked on 461 millionaires since 2001.

For the San Francisco folks who cashed in big-time, they tended to be people who purchased before the dot-com bubble burst and sold after the market mended (and prices rocketed), PropertyShark reports.

The fact that there are many more condos in Manhattan than houses in San Francisco is the main reason why the New York locale scooped up second place. Same goes for Brooklyn, at No. 3.

Of the D.C.-area cities, all four are in Maryland: Potomac, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, and Rockville.

Timing, as they say, is everything, and millionaires are made when market conditions are at their prime, PropertyShark says. “You can buy the right home, at the right time, in the right market and dismiss the possibility that someday you might sell it,” the company said. “But if the need arises and selling becomes an option, the market’s condition will determine how much money you’ll get for a property that you bought 10 or 20 years ago.”

Click here for the full list.

About Author: Alison Rich

Alison Rich has a long-time tenure in the writing and editing realm, touting an impressive body of work that has been featured in local and national consumer and trade publications spanning industries and audiences. She has worked for DS News and MReport magazines—both in print and online—since they launched.
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