Key Highlights
- Home prices increase +10% in +50% of country, according to ATTOM Data Solutions
- +90% of country saw home sale profit margins increase in 2020
- National homeownership tenure hit record high
- All-cash sales and institutional investing down in 2020
Prices Up More than +10% in Half of Country
Median home prices increased +12.8% nationwide for an all-time high of $266,250, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ 2020 Year-End Home Sales Report. Since 2012 when the housing market began recovering from the Great Recession, the national median home price has increased an eye-popping +72.3%.
Home prices hit new peaks in 129 of the 132 metros analyzed by ATTOM including New York NY, Los Angeles CA, Chicago IL, Dallas TX and Houston TX. The largest y/y gains in median home prices took place in Bridgeport CT, Myrtle Beach SC, Crestview-Fort Walton Beach FL, Boise ID, and Hilton Head SC.
The smallest gains were in Worcester MA, Harrisburg PA, Pittsburgh PA, Boston MA and Daphne-Fairhope AL.
More than +90% of Nation Experienced Profit Margin Increases in 2020
Among metros with populations of at least 1M that saw the largest annual ROI increases were Birmingham AL (+71%), Hartford CT (+56.9%), Cleveland OH (+52.2%), Rochester NY (+49.9%) and St. Louis MO (+45.7%).
The largest annual ROI decreases came in Honolulu HI (-11.8%), Greeley CO (-8.9%), Miami FL (-7.7%), Cape Coral FL (-7.4%) and San Francisco (-5.7%). Other metros with populations of at least 1M that saw declining profits included Pittsburgh PA, Denver CO and Dallas TX.
Homeownership Tenure Hits Record High Nationwide
Sellers who sold their homes during Q4 2020 had owned their homes for an average of 8.33years, up from 7.98 years in Q3 2020 and 7.96 years in Q4 2019. This tenure of 8.33 years represents the longest average home-seller tenure since at least Q1 2020, the earliest period of available data.
Cash Sales at 13-Year Low and Institutional Investing at Lowest Level This Century
All-cash purchases in 2020 claimed only 23.5% of single-family home and condo sales in 2020, the lowest level since 2007. Metros with populations of +200,000 reverting this downward trend of all-cash purchases included Macon GA, Naples FL, Chico CA, Fort Smith AR and Montgomery AL.
Institutional investors nationwide were seemingly disinterested in the residential markets in 2020. Only 2.2% of all sales of single-family home and condo sales were generated from institutional investors. Metros with populations of +200,000 that were at all interesting to institutional investors were Memphis TN, Atlanta GA, Laredo TX, Fort Wayne IN and Montgomery AL.
Thanks to ATTOM Data Solutions.
