$68,000: The Profits DC-Area Home Sellers Saw This Year

• April 30th 2020

by Nena Perry-Brown

Evidence is mounting of how hot the DC area housing market was this year before the public health emergency. 

Home sellers in the region saw average profits of $68,010 in the first quarter of 2020, according to the most recent report from ATTOM Data Solutions. This means that sellers saw an average 22% return on their original investment. Home sellers nationwide also saw an increase in profits, with average gains of $67,100 compared to $57,500 a year earlier.

Average homeownership tenure in the DC area has gone down a bit, to 7.86 years in the first quarter of the year compared to 8.13 years in the first quarter of 2019.

While the gains in the first quarter were substantial, the report offers some perspective on how the pandemic will change this.

“The national housing market continued at full throttle in the first quarter of 2020, setting new price and profit records as it entered its ninth straight year of gains. After it looked like things were settling down last year, the market has again roared ahead, with significant increases,” said Todd Teta, chief product officer at ATTOM Data Solutions. “It is extremely important to note that the latest momentum is likely to hit a wall and reverse because of the drastic economic slowdown caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. Millions of Americans are newly unemployed, and most people are practicing social distancing, which could bring things to a halt just as the Spring buying season begins. Despite that cloud, the numbers for Q1 still do remain upbeat.”

The data for the report cited in this article is culled from recorded deeds, foreclosure filings and loan data.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/68000-the-profits-dc-area-home-sellers-saw-this-year/16784.