July 27, 2017
Between early April and the end of June, the U.S. housing market has been good to homeowners looking to sell their homes and make a profit.
According to the latest findings from ATTOM Data Solutions, the average price gain in the second quarter of 2017 stacked up to $51,000 nationally. In the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington area, the average price gain was $31,500.
In the country at large, this price gain for home sellers is the highest in 10 years. Additionally, homeownership nationally has reached a new high.
The staggering rate of average home price has already brought a lot of attention to the Philadelphia housing market, with the average Philadelphia home reportedly selling for $112,000 as of April 2017, compared to an average of $92,000 the year prior.
Despite this monetary gain, the data suggests that home sellers are still in a conundrum due to the rising rate and length of homeownership.
“Potential home sellers in today’s market are caught in a Catch-22,” Daren Blomquist, senior vice president of ATTOM Data Solutions, said to Realty Trac.
“While it’s the most profitable time to sell in a decade, it’s also extremely difficult to find another home to purchase, which is helping to keep homeowners in their homes longer before selling. And the market is becoming even more competitive, with the share of cash buyers in the second quarter increasing annually for the first time in four years.”
Of homeowners who sold in the second quarter of 2017, they owned for an average of 8.05 years -- up from 7.85 years in the previous quarter. In Philly, however, the average homeownership tenure declined, in line with other metro areas like Chicago, Detroit and Washington, D.C.
In sales of distressed properties, meaning properties in poor condition, unkept by owners and/or on the road to foreclosure, Atlantic City and Trenton both had high sale numbers compared to other areas. Atlantic City had the highest share of total distressed sales, at 40.2 percent, and Trenton came in fourth at 27.7 percent.
Take a look at the full report here.
