Average U.S. Home Seller Profits Hit New High
ATTOM Data Solutions’ Year-End 2019 U.S. Home Sales Report shows that home sellers nationwide in 2019 realized a home price gain of $65,500 on the typical sale, up from $58,100 last year and up from $50,027 two years ago. The latest profit figure, based on median purchase and resale prices, marked the highest level in the U.S. since 2006.
That $65,500 typical home seller profit represented a 34% return on investment compared to the original purchase price, up from 31.4% last year and up from 27.4% in 2017, to the highest average home-seller ROI since 2006.
Both raw profits and ROI have improved nationwide for eight straight years. However, last year’s gain in ROI—up less than three percentage points—was the smallest since 2011.
Among 220 metropolitan statistical areas with a population greater than 200,000 and sufficient historical sales data, those in western states continued to reap the highest returns on investments, with concentrations on or near the West coast. Metro areas with the highest home seller ROIs were in San Jose, California (82.8%); San Francisco, California (72.8%); Seattle, Washington (65.6%); Merced, California (63.2%) and Salem, Oregon (62.1%). The top four in 2019 were the same areas that topped the list in 2018.
The U.S. median home price increased 6.2% in 2019, hitting an all-time high of $258,000. The annual home-price appreciation in 2019 topped the 4.5% rise in 2018 compared to 2017 but was down from the 7.1% increase in 2017 compared to 2016.
Among 134 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of 200,000 or more and sufficient home price data, those with the biggest year-over-year increases in median home prices were South Bend, Indiana (up 18.4%); Boise City, Idaho (up 12.6%); Spokane, Washington (up 10.9%); Atlantic City, New Jersey (up 10.6%) and Salt Lake City, Utah (up 9.6%).
Nationwide, all-cash purchases accounted for 25.3% of single-family home and condo sales in 2019, the lowest level since 2007. The latest figure was down from 27% in 2018 and 27.7% in 2017, and well off the 38.4% peaks in 2011 and 2012. However, this is still well above the pre-recession average of 18.7% between 2000 and 2007.
Distressed home sales—including bank-owned (REO) sales, third-party foreclosure auction sales and short sales—accounted for 11.5% of all U.S. single-family home and condo sales in 2019, down from 12.4% in 2018 and from a peak of 38.8% in 2011. The latest figure marked the lowest point since 2006.
Institutional investors nationwide accounted for 2.9% of all single-family home and condo sales in 2019, down from 3% in 2018 to the lowest point since 2015.
Nationwide, buyers using Federal Housing Administration loans accounted for 11.9% of all single-family home and condo purchases in 2019, up from 10.6% in 2018. The increase marked the first rise since 2015.
Among 197 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of
at least 200,000 and sufficient FHA-buyer data, the top four with the highest
share of purchases made with FHA loans were in Texas. Those with the highest
levels of FHA buyers in 2019 were McAllen, Texas (30.4% of sales); El Paso,
Texas (26%); Amarillo, Texas (24.4%); Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas (23.7%)
and Visalia, California (23.5%). The four Texas metros were the same that led
the list in 2018.
