Profit Margins for Sellers Decrease for Second Straight Year;Typical Seller Return Remains Near Record Highs, But Declines to 54 Percent;Returns Dip Even as National Median Home Price Climbs to $350,000 ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property data, and real estate analytics, released its Year-End 2024 U.S. Home Sales Report, which shows that home sellers made a $122,500 profit on typical sales nationwide in 2024, generating a 53.8 percent return on investment. But even as both measures remained near record levels, and home prices kept rising around the country, the profit margin on median-priced sales nationwide decreased from 56.9 percent from 2023. The drop-off marked the second straight annual decline – a pattern of consecutive downturns that hadn’t happened since the aftermath of the Great Recession in the late 2000s. While the gross profit on median-priced single-family home and condo sales did inch up about $2,000 from 2023, the typical profit margin stood eight percentage points below a peak hit in 2022. The downward investment-return trend continued despite the median national home price rising 5 percent to yet another annual record of $350,000. Margins fell back as the increase in home values failed to keep up with larger price spikes recent sellers had been paying when they originally bought their homes. “After a weak 2023, the U.S. housing market mostly rebounded nicely in 2024. Prices went back up at a healthy clip and homeowners continued to make some of the best profits on sales in the past 25 years. The renewed shine, however, didn’t come without a bit of tarnish as margins took another turn for the worse,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “Amid the generally good news, that’s something worth following closely in 2025.” He noted that “home prices are stretching household budgets more and more, and mortgage rates have been going back up in recent months even as other forces put more upward pressure on prices. So, there are certainly major factors that could propel the market up or settle it back down. Either will have a significant effect on seller returns.” The price-and-profit picture, while mixed, reflected an ongoing housing market boom that has continued for 13 years in a row. Last year’s scenario emerged as buyers buoyed by rising wages, a strong investment market and mostly receding mortgage interest rates competed for a historically tight supply of homes. Nevertheless, the resulting price gains weren’t quite enough to push profits upward. Among 127 metropolitan statistical areas with a population greater than 200,000 and sufficient sales data, sellers in more expensive markets around the U.S. generally reaped the highest returns on investment in 2024. Geographically, the Northeast, South and West regions led the way with 29 of the 30 highest ROIs. They were led by San Jose, CA (105.8 percent return on investment); Knoxville, TN (94.3 percent); Ocala, FL (87.1 percent); Seattle, WA (85.6 percent) and Scranton, PA (85 percent). Historical U.S. Home Seller Gains National median home price rises another 5 percentAfter a weak annual gain of just 1.1 percent in 2023, the U.S. median home price increased another 4.9 percent in 2024, hitting the latest all-time high of $350,000. The typical 2024 price was almost 2 ½ times the nationwide median in 2011, a point in time right before the housing market began recovering from the Great Recession. Amid the tight supply of properties for sale, median values went up last year in 115, or 91 percent, of the 127 metropolitan statistical areas around the U.S. reviewed for this report. Those with the biggest year-over-year increases were Evansville, IN (median up 13.4 percent); Augusta, GA (up 13.2 percent); Albany, NY (up 12.3 percent); Fort Wayne, IN (up 12.2 percent) and Scranton, PA (up 12.1 percent). The largest median-price increases in metro areas with a population of at least 1 million in 2024 came in Hartford CT, (up 11.1 percent); New York, NY (up 9.6 percent); Rochester, NY (up 9.5 percent); Detroit, MI (up 9.5 percent) and Providence, RI (up 9.4 percent). Typical home prices last year reached or tied records in 108 of the metros analyzed (85 percent), including New York, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Chicago, IL; Houston, TX, and Washington, DC. Metro areas where median prices dropped most in 2024 were Birmingham, AL (down 8.3 percent); Ocala, FL (down 5.9 percent); Fort Myers, FL (down 4.3 percent); Lakeland, FL (down 2.8 percent) and Sarasota, FL (down 2.7 percent). Profit margins decrease in three-quarters of nation, with worst declines in SouthProfit margins on typical home sales went down from 2023 to 2024 in 93 of the 127 metro areas with sufficient data to analyze for investment returns (73 percent). The 10 largest decreases in investment returns were all in the South, led by Fayetteville, AR (ROI down from 71.9 percent in 2023 to 51.3 percent in 2024); Ocala, FL (down from 105.7 percent to 87.1 percent); Sarasota, FL (down from 80.6 percent to 64.6 percent); Chattanooga, TN (down from 80.6 percent to 65.9 percent) and Crestview-Fort Walton Beach, FL (down from 60.1 percent of 45.9 percent). The largest ROI losses from 2023 to 2024 in metro areas with a population of at least 1 million were in Birmingham, AL (ROI down from 44.3 percent to 33.5 percent); Tampa, FL (down from 80 percent to 69.8 percent); San Antonio, TX (down from 34.4 percent to 26.4 percent); Austin, TX (down from 46.5 percent to 39.5 percent) and Portland, OR (down from 70 percent to 63.6 percent). The biggest increases in investment returns from 2023 to 2024 came in Syracuse, NY (ROI up from 56 percent to 69.3 percent); Rochester, NY (up from 61.9 percent to 72.3 percent); Evansville, IN (up from 34.6 percent to 44.7 percent); Cleveland, OH (up from 51.6 percent to 61.2 percent) and Akron, OH (up from 50.3 percent to 59.2 percent). Aside from Rochester and Cleveland, metro areas with a population of at least 1 million and the best increases in profit margins in 2024 included Hartford, CT (up from 67.6 percent to 75 percent); Buffalo, NY (up from 75.6 percent to 82.6 percent) and San Jose, CA (up from 99.9 percent to 105.8 percent). Sellers in more than half of U.S. still reaping gross profits above $100,000, with best levels in coastal marketsDespite the decline in profit margins across much of the country, gross profits on median-priced home sales in 2024 still topped $100,000 in 79, or 62 percent, of the metro areas with sufficient data to analyze. The east and west coasts had 18 of the top 20 gross profits last year, led by San Jose,
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