According to ATTOM Data Solutions Q3 2019 Home Sales Report, the median home price hit $270,000. This new high of $270,000 represents an increase of +2.9% from Q2 2019 and +8.3% from Q3 2018. Additionally, ATTOM indicated that homeowners who sold homes in Q3 2019 garnered a +34.5% increase from their initial purchase price. This +34.5% represents a post-recession high in seller profits.
Todd Teta, ATTOM’s chief product officer, said, “The seven-year US housing boom is back in high gear. After a series of relatively small price increase quarters, home prices saw quite the uptick, seller profits rose and the problem of distressed sales continued to fade, helping to make Q3 2019 the strongest in four years. That all happened as mortgage rates sank back to near-historic lows, which clearly powered the market upward along with stock market surges and a continued strong economy. There had been signs before the latest surge of a cooling market, but they seem to have diminished, at least for now.”
ATTOM’s report indicated that 95% of the metro markets analyzed (148 of 155 markets) saw prices increase on an y/y basis. Overall, markets experiencing increased home prices include:
– Lansing MI +25.1%
– Green Bay WI +18.1%
– Johnson City TN +16.7%
– Hickory-Lenoir NC +13.7%
Metros with 1M+ populations having the greatest annual home price appreciation in Q3 2019 along with Denver and Nashville include:
– Philadelphia +12.3%
– Jacksonville FL +10.8%
– Detroit +10.6%
– Salt Lake City +9.8%
– Milwaukee +9.6%
Only three major metros experienced drops in home prices:
– Kansas City -9.4%
– San Jose -3.3%
– Hartford CT -0.3%
Metros with 1M+ populations now experiencing home prices that have increased at least +50% over pre-recession levels include:
– Dallas-Ft. Worth +73%
– Austin +73%
– San Antonio +62%
– Houston +55%
– Oklahoma City +52%
All- cash sales represented 24.3% of all single-family home and condo sales in Q3 2019, the lowest share of all sales since Q3 2007. However, the highest share of all-cash sales in metros with 1M+ people included:
– Miami 37.7%
– Birmingham AL 36.0%
– Phoenix 35.1%
-Tampa-St. Petes 34.9%
– Jacksonville FL 33.4%
The share of institutional investors buying 10+ properties in one year stayed steady in Q3 2019. Institutional investors were most active in Atlanta GA, Raleigh NC, Charlotte NC, Memphis TN and Phoenix AZ.
The share of FHA buyers, typically first-time buyers and buyers offering low down payments, was the highest at 12.1% of all sales since 2017. Metros with 1M+ people with the highest share of FHA buyers included:
– Riverside CA 20.5%
– San Antonio TX 20.2%
– Houston 19.1%
– Dallas 18.2%
– Indianapolis 18.0%
The share of distressed sales in Q3 2019 dropped to its lowest level in nearly 13 years, Q4 2006, to 10.5% of all sales. Overall, the share of distressed sales dropped y/y in 81% of all metros analyzed for this report. Metros with the highest shares of distressed sales included Hartford CT, Baltimore MY, Cleveland OH, Providence RI and Memphis TN.
