Rising home prices over the last few years are finally putting more money back into home sellers’ pockets. Home owners who sold during the third quarter saw an average price gain of $40,658 – or 17 percent – from the purchase price of their property – the highest average price increase for sellers since the third quarter of 2007, according to RealtyTrac’s Third Quarter 2015 U.S. Home Sales Report.
“An increasing number of home owners in 2015 have been cashing out the home equity they’ve gained during the housing recovery of the past three years,” says 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.”
In its analysis of 171 counties nationwide, RealtyTrac found that the following counties saw sellers, on average, see some of the largest gains in the third quarter:
- San Francisco County, Calif.: 58.7% gain
- San Mateo County, Calif. (San Francisco metro area): 55.7%
- Santa Clara County, Calif. (San Jose metro area): 47.7%
- Alameda County, Calif.: 43.1%
- New York County, N.Y.: 41.6%
RealtyTrac’s report also showed the following counties posted the largest year-over-year increases in home prices:
- San Mateo County, Calif.: up 17.6%
- New York County, N.Y.: up 16.1%
- Santa Clara County, Calif.: up 15.7%
- Weld County, Colo. (Greeley metro area): up 14.6%
- San Francisco County, Calif.: up 13.3%
References: RealtyTrac, RealtorMag, Daily Real Estate News
Donald Horne, Team Success Listing
Associate Broker-Coldwell Banker Shooltz Realty
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