Sellers’ Profits Surge Amidst Price Increases

Homesellers’ profit jumped 45% in 2021.

According to ATTOM, home sellers received a profit of $94,092 on average, up from $64,931 in 2020 and up 71% from $55,000 in 2019. Sellers saw a return on their original investment of 45.3% on average in 2021, up from 33.6% in 2020 and 30.6% in 2019. This represents consecutive year-over-year increases for sellers in both profit and ROI over the past decade. With more than 5.7 million single-family homes and condos sold in 2021, the highest amount since 2005, many sellers jumped on the opportunity to make a profit. Home prices rose 16.1% in 2021, which helped boost sellers’ profits and ROI, but the pent-up demand for homes and low inventory drove it even further. It’s in stark contrast to 2008 through 2013, where most sellers did not make a profit and lost money, as much as $37,957 in 2011.

Home prices have risen 109% since 2011, and many sellers are taking advantage. Ninety-eight percent of markets saw home prices reach their highest point ever. Eighty-seven percent of markets saw their profit margins rise in 2021. Harrisburg was one of the few markets to see a decrease in ROI, with it dropping 22.8%.

Despite a challenging market, people are staying in their homes for shorter than ever. The report found that sellers in the fourth quarter of 2021 owned their homes for an average of 6.14 years, down from 8.03 years in the fourth quarter of 2020. This is the shortest amount of time sellers have remained in their homes in nearly a decade.

Additionally, all-cash sales rose in 2021, representing 30.3% of every condo or single-family house sale, the highest since 2015. It’s an increase of 7.5% from 2020 and 5.3% from 2019.