According to ATTOM’s Year-End Home Sales report, 2024 marked the second consecutive year of declining home sale profits, falling to 53.8% in 2024 from 56.9% in 2023. Median seller profit for 2024 was $122,500 per home sale.
Although an average of $122,500 is nothing to sneeze at, the median home price in the U.S. rose 5% in 2024, to an all-time high of $350,000, according to ATTOM.
With prices shooting up across the country, one might anticipate higher returns when selling, but the rising costs incurred by sellers at initial purchase has resulted in an eight-percentage-point drop from the peak margins recorded in 2022.
Declining profitability was experienced evenly in all markets, however, as traditionally expensive markets netted comparatively high returns, with San Jose, Ca., Knoxville, Tenn., and Ocala, Fla., leading the way at 105.8%, 94.3%, and 87.1% returns, respectively.
Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM, noted that, "After a weak 2023, the U.S. housing market mostly rebounded nicely in 2024. Prices went back up at a healthy clip and homeowners continued to make some of the best profits on sales in the past 25 years. The renewed shine, however, didn't come without a bit of tarnish as margins took another turn for the worse."
That “tarnish” can be largely chalked up to disappointing returns in the southern U.S., with Florida yielding the most depleted returns across the board. Fayetteville, Ark., faced the most loss, with profit margins down from an average 71.9% in 2023 to 51.3% in 2024.
Ocala, Fla., which collected the highest returns nationwide for 2024, was down significantly from a staggering 105.7% in 2023. Sarasota and Crestview-Fort Walton Beach, Fla., were down from 80.6% to 64.6% and 60.1% to 45.9%, respectively.
Suppressed returns in Florida are yet another blow for the Sunshine State, which also saw flattened growth in home prices, when compared to the rest of the nation.
With the housing market experiencing a sort of ‘will they or won’t they’ scenario in terms of future outlook, the year ahead is shaping up to be a mixed bag of unknowns.
“Home prices are stretching household budgets more and more, and mortgage rates have been going back up in recent months even as other forces put more upward pressure on prices. So, there are certainly major factors that could propel the market up or settle it back down. Either will have a significant effect on seller returns,” said Barber.
