Homeowners who sold during the third quarter made more on average than any other quarter over the past eight years, according to a new Home Sales report from RealtyTrac.
Homeowners realized an average price gain of $40,658 (17%) from the purchase price of their property, marking the highest average price gain for home sellers since the third quarter of 2007.
On average, home sellers in the third had owned their home for 6.72 years when they sold.
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(Source: RealtyTrac)
“An increasing number of homeowners in 2015 have been cashing out the home equity they’ve gained during the housing recovery of the past three years,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac.
“That may be a good decision because the data points to a plateauing market going forward. Home price appreciation is slowing, a trend that will continue if interest rates rise in the coming months as expected. Meanwhile the threat of rising interest rates combined with lowered premiums for buyers using FHA loans is spurring more demand.”
Meanwhile, the report also said that buyers using Federal Housing Administration loans accounted for 23.4% of all single family home and condo sales with financing in the third quarter of 2015. This is up from 23.2% in the second quarter and up from 17.9% in the third quarter of 2014 to the highest share since the second quarter of 2012.
“Home sales in the third quarter saw an increase in first-time homebuyers in the area,” said Michael Mahon, president at HER Realtors, covering the Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus markets in Ohio.
“With FHA loans accounting for nearly a third of the overall purchase transactions across the state, low interest rates, and the tax benefits of homeownership continue to be driving factors for home buyers to elect to purchase, versus renting,” he added.
