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Home sellers in these four Florida metro areas make national list after turning huge profits


Home values are rising at historic rates in the United States, and Florida scored four metro areas among the nation’s top 40 most profitable.  The median home price hit a national all time high of $310,500 in the third quarter of 2021, 16 percent higher than it was the same period the previous year, according to ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate and property data provider.

Surging home values are partially a product of growing demand, which is fueled in part by low mortgage rates. These conditions have created a seller’s market unlike anything seen in recent memory. Nationwide, the profit margin — the change between purchase and resale prices — on median-priced single-family homes sold in the third quarter was 47.6%, equivalent to a profit of $100,178. In many cities across the country, third quarter profit margins eclipsed the national median by a wide margin.

In the Port St. Lucie metro area, located just north of Palm Beach on Florida’s east coast, the typical home sale in the third quarter of 2021 generated a 69.4 percent profit for the seller — the 15th highest profit margin among U.S. metro areas considered, and first in Florida. In dollar terms, the typical area home sold for $125,000 more than it was purchased for. The typical home in the Port St. Lucie metro area sold for $303,418 in the third quarter of 2021, up 5.1 percent from the median sale price of $288,810 the previous quarter and up 21 percent from the median sale price of $250,000 in the third quarter of 2020.

In the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area, just across the state on the opposite coast, the typical home sale in the third quarter of 2021 generated a 62.2 percent profit for the seller — the 32nd highest profit margin among U.S. metro areas considered, and ranking 2nd in Florida. There, the typical area home sold for $117,000 more than it was purchased for.

Third highest in Florida is the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville metro area, also known as Florida’s Space Coast because of its proximity to Cape Canaveral. There, the typical home sale in the third quarter of 2021 generated a 62.4 percent profit for the seller — the 31st highest profit margin among U.S. metro areas considered, taking third place in Florida. In dollar terms, the typical area home sold for $111,000 more than it was purchased for.

Rounding out the list for the Sunshine State is the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area, where the typical home sale in the third quarter of 2021 generated a 62.1 percent profit for the seller — the 33rd highest profit margin among U.S. metro areas considered. In dollar terms, the typical area home sold for $114,900 more than it was purchased for.

As is the case nationwide the state’s high profit margins have been fueled by a historic surge in home values. The typical home in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area sold for $300,000 in the third quarter of 2021, up 5.8% from the median sale price of $283,500 the previous quarter and up 22% from the median sale price of $246,500 in the third quarter of 2020.

All data in this story was provided by ATTOM Data Solutions. All U.S. metro areas with populations of at least 200,000 and at least 1,000 single-family home and condo sales in Q3 2021 were considered. Here’s the national rankings:

Rank Metro area Median homesale profit, Q3 2021 (%) Median homesale profit, Q3 2021 ($) Median homesale price, Q3 2021 ($)
1 Boise City, ID 130.3 251,989 445,313
2 Bellingham, WA 105.6 273,500 530,500
3 Claremont-Lebanon, NH-VT 93.8 136,783 281,917
4 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 87.7 171,001 369,000
5 Prescott, AZ 84.7 188,000 410,000
6 Stockton-Lodi, CA 80.4 225,000 504,500
7 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 72.8 267,500 637,100
8 Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ 72.1 129,907 310,000
9 Utica-Rome, NY 72.0 67,000 160,000
10 Ogden-Clearfield, UT 71.8 176,944 425,000
11 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 71.0 515,000 1,240,000
12 Austin-Round Rock, TX 70.9 192,656 465,000
13 Erie, PA 70.5 62,000 150,000
14 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI 70.0 105,000 255,000
15 Port St. Lucie, FL 69.4 125,000 303,418
16 Kennewick-Richland, WA 68.6 152,550 375,000
17 Flint, MI 68.5 68,500 168,250
18 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 68.0 87,000 215,000
19 Raleigh, NC 67.0 143,250 357,000
20 Reno, NV 66.7 190,000 475,000
21 Olympia-Tumwater, WA 65.9 180,742 455,000
22 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 65.2 138,500 351,000
23 Athens-Clarke County, GA 65.2 104,550 265,000
24 Green Bay, WI 65.0 90,600 230,000
25 Salt Lake City, UT 64.8 180,874 459,900
26 Provo-Orem, UT 64.7 181,880 463,199
27 Manchester-Nashua, NH 63.8 150,000 385,000
28 Rochester, NY 63.8 70,100 180,000
29 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 63.6 388,000 995,000
30 Modesto, CA 62.7 160,000 415,000
31 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 62.4 111,000 289,000
32 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 62.2 117,000 304,000
33 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 62.1 114,900 300,000
34 Merced, CA 62.0 138,000 365,000
35 Pittsburgh, PA 61.9 65,000 170,000
36 Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA 61.8 66,700 174,700
37 Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA 61.6 199,000 525,000
38 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 61.3 150,100 395,204
39 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 60.8 185,500 490,000
40 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton, PA 60.3 53,400 142,000

The Capitolist compiled this story using data from several other stories by Samuel Stebbins, courtesy of 24/7 Wall Street and The Center Square.