U.S. homeowners made an average profit of 49.9% on single-family home and condominium sales in the third quarter of 2025, according to ATTOM’s newest U.S. Home Sales Report.
That’s up slightly from 49.3% in the second quarter but down from the 55.4% margin seen in the third quarter of last year.
Sellers typically earned $123,100 per sale, a 1.9% increase from the prior quarter but 3.5% below the figure seen in Q3 2024.
“Profit margins remained steady and high throughout the traditionally busier summer selling season,” said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM. “While continuously rising prices could have chased away buyers and slackened demand, the recent dip in mortgage rates may be helping to keep more people in the market.”
The national median sales price rose 1.2% from the second quarter and 3.4% year over year to $370,000, marking a second straight record high.
Profits slip in most metros
Profit margins declined on a quarterly basis in nearly 59% of the 157 metro areas analyzed — and they dropped year over year in more than 84% of them, according to the report.
Florida markets saw some of the steepest declines — including Ocala, down from 103.9% to 55.1%; Punta Gorda, down from 88.3% to 58%; and North Port–Sarasota, down from 61.1% to 38.8%.
Some metro areas saw improvement. St. George, Utah, rose from 26.3% to 37.2%; Gulfport, Mississippi, climbed from 26.2% to 35.7%; and Lexington, Kentucky, increased from 42.9% to 48.6%.
Among metros with more than 1 million residents, the sharpest annual declines came in Tampa (down from 70.7% to 54.3%); Seattle (down from 93.6% to 80.2%); and Boston (down from 81.8% to 70%).
Diverging market outcomes in Texas, California
Just over half of all metro areas posted profits margins above 50% in the third quarter.
The highest profits among large metros were in San Jose (94.3%); Seattle (80.2%); and Buffalo, New York (80%).
Texas cities saw some of the lowest returns. New Orleans had the lowest profit margin at 19.6%, followed by San Antonio (22.8%), Houston (30%), Austin (31.8%) and Dallas (33.5%).
The typical U.S. home sale brought in $123,100 in profit, but wide gaps remained between markets.
Major California metros produced the largest raw gains as San Jose led with an average profit of $740,500, followed by San Francisco ($450,000) and San Diego ($350,000).
The smallest raw profits were in New Orleans ($41,000), San Antonio ($55,895) and Oklahoma City ($63,000).
Midwest leads in price growth
Median sales prices rose annually in 77% of metro areas.
Birmingham, Alabama, led with a 23.5% increase, followed by Detroit (up 17.4%); Dayton, Ohio (up 14.8%); Flint, Michigan (up 12.9%); and Indianapolis (up 12.8%).
Cape Coral, Florida (down 10.7%); Lake Havasu, Arizona (down 8.6%); and Austin (down 8.2%) posted the biggest annual price drops.
The average seller owned their home for 8.39 years before selling — the longest tenure in at least 25 years.
Barnstable, Massachusetts, topped the list with an average of 14.4 years, followed by San Francisco (13.1 years) and Bridgeport, Connecticut (12.8 years).
The shortest tenures were in Provo, Utah (6.9 years) and Oklahoma City (7.1 years).
Lender-owned and cash sales stable
Lender-owned homes made up just 1.2% of all U.S. sales in Q3 2025, down slightly from the previous quarter.
Beaumont, Texas, had the highest share at 4.1%, while Seattle posted one of the lowest rates at 0.5%.
All-cash transactions accounted for 38.9% of all sales, up from 37.6% a year ago. The highest rates were in Hilo, Hawaii (69.9%), and Claremont, New Hampshire (69.7%).
Institutional and FHA purchases
Institutional investors bought 6.4% of homes sold, down from 7% in the prior quarter.
Texas and Missouri led with 8.8% of total sales going to institutional buyers.
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans were used for 8.3% of all purchases, with California metros — including Merced at 24.4% and Bakersfield at 23.4% — leading this usage.
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