Money Matters
This Dallas neighborhood boasted the biggest profits for sellers in 2017
Dallas homeowners who sold their digs in 2017 made a pretty penny, especially in one hot 'hood. According to a new report from Zillow, the Dallas-Fort Worth housing market was one of a few in the U.S. where sellers profited enough from selling their home to cover their next down payment.
Last year, DFW-area homes sold for a median of $56,297 more than the original purchase price, a gain of 31.4 percent, and the highest return in Texas. Zillow says the current 20 percent down payment on a median-priced DFW home is $45,020, meaning sellers were left with a nice cushion for their next move.
Homeowners in Dallas' elite Bluffview neighborhood cashed in the most. Homes in that area sold for a whopping $124,406 more than the purchase price. In the Fort Worth area, the biggest earnings were in Park Glen, where sellers profited $67,128. (The typical DFW seller owned the home for 7.4 years prior to selling; Bluffview sellers sold after 6.5 years, Park Glen after 10.7 years.)
"In a housing market that’s been plagued by low inventory and increasing demand, homeowners in the nation’s hottest markets have been able to cash in when they sell their homes," said Zillow senior economist Aaron Terrazas in a release.
Across the nation, homes sold for 21 percent more than the purchase price, or $39,000. In Texas, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin exceeded the national average; only San Antonians made less. There, homes sold for 19.7 percent over the purchase price, or $34,029, which is less than the $36,560 needed for a down payment right now.
Houston sellers received $43,374 more than the purchase price, a gain of 24.7 percent. And with the median down payment estimated at $39,100, residents had some cash to spare. In Austin, homeowners profited $57,697 — 27.1 percent more than what they paid for their home, but slightly less than the median down payment of $58,620.
The Texas figures pale in comparison to California, where San Jose and San Francisco sellers made $296,000 and $222,000, respectively.
