Homeowners gained a full $44,000 in equity since the purchase, according to the Q1 2017 U.S. Home Sales Report from ATTOM Data Solutions, a fused property database.
This increase represents a 24% return on the purchase price, the highest average price gain for home sellers in terms of dollars and percent returns since the third quarter of 2007.
“The first quarter of 2017 was the most profitable time to be a home seller in nearly a decade, and yet homeowners are continuing to stay put in their homes longer before selling,” ATTOM Senior Vice President Daren Blomquist said. “This counterintuitive combination is in part the result of the low inventory of move-up homes available for current homeowners, while also perpetuating the scarcity of starter homes available for first-time homebuyers.”
Homeowners who sold their home during the first quarter had owned their home an average of 7.97 years, down slightly from the record-high average homeownership tenure of eight years in the fourth quarter, but up from last year’s 7.68 years.
Before the Great Recession, from the first quarter of 2000 to the third quarter of 2007, homeownership tenure averaged 4.26 years.
“There are some early signs this inventory logjam may be loosening up in some markets, with the average homeownership tenure down from a year ago in nine of the 66 markets we analyzed, including Memphis, Dallas, Boston, Portland and Tampa,” Blomquist said. “Sky-high potential price gains may be finally prompting more homeowners to sell.”
February’s Case-Shiller report showed home prices hit a new high for the fourth consecutive month, and experts explained the spring home-buying season is off to a fast start.
