Home Sale Profit Margins Hit 10-Year High

House Model on Top of Stack of Coins

© Nora Carol Photography - Moment/Getty Images

Home sellers continue to get richer as prices rise. Profit margins on median-priced single-family home and condo sales climbed to 47.6%, which marks the highest level in a decade.

The typical home sale nationwide during the third quarter generated a record-high profit of $100,178 as national median home prices continued to rise, ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate data firm, reports. That is up from $88,800 in the second quarter of this year. Profit margins reflect the change between the median purchase and resale price.

The largest annual increases in profit margins in the third quarter occurred in:

  • Boise City, Idaho: margin up from 61.4% in the third quarter of 2020 to 130.3% in the third quarter of 2021
  • Claremont-Lebanon, N.H.: up from 41.1% to 93.8%
  • Augusta, Ga.: up from 19.6% to 56.6%
  • Raleigh, N.C.: up from 30.4% to 67%
  • Bellingham, Wash.: up from 69.5% to 105.6%

“The third quarter of this year marked another period in a banner year for a housing market boom that’s steaming ahead through its 10th year,” says Todd Teta, chief product officer at ATTOM Data Solutions. “Prices and seller profits again hit new highs since the market started coming back from the Great Recession in 2012.”

Still, Teta says there have been hints of a slowdown in recent weeks heading into what typically is a quieter fall and winter season. “The pandemic also remains a constant presence that could tamp things down,” he adds. “But, for now, the market engine seems to have nothing but high-octane gas in the tank.”

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