6 Most Profitable Markets for Sellers | Realtor Magazine
Sellers are cashing in on yet another record high for sale prices, with the median annual return on home sales reaching 8 percent nationally over the last 12 months, according to realtor.com®. But some cities are seeing annual returns stretch as high as 14 percent, researchers found in an analysis of the 100 largest U.S. metros. “Owning can be a great way to build up overall net worth,” says realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale. “If you’re looking to transition in a local market [to a bigger home], you have the home equity. If you’re looking to retire and move somewhere else, you have the money to do that.”
Some of the nation’s fastest-growing cities are seeing the highest returns, as well as areas that were hardest hit during the Great Recession. Some homeowners “walked into the room when everyone was running out,” says Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel in New York. “They are now being compensated for their risk.”
In its analysis, realtor.com® defined profit as the difference between the two most recent sales of a property and used that information to create an average annualized return for its rankings. (The site limited its rankings to one metro per state for geographic diversity.) The cities that ranked highest on realtor.com®’s list as the most profitable housing markets for sellers are:
1. Bridgeport, Conn.
- Average annualized return: 14%
- Median list price: $789,100
2. Detroit
- Average annualized return: 12%
- Median list price: $260,000
3. Seattle
- Average annualized return: 12%
- Median list price: $582,400
4. San Jose, Calif.
- Average annualized return: 12%
- Median list price: $1,240,300
5. Palm Bay, Fla.
- Average annualized return: 12%
- Median list price: $270,000
6. Denver
- Average annualized return: 11%
- Median list price: $467,600