Homesellers realized a profit of $94,092 on the typical sale in 2021, up 45 percent from $64,931 in 2020 and up 71 percent from $55,000 two years ago, according to ATTOM’s year-end home sales report.  Profits rose in more than 90 percent of housing markets ATTOM analyzed and the latest figure, based on median purchase and resale prices, marked the highest level in the U.S. since at least 2008.

“What a year 2021 was for homesellers and the housing market all around the U.S. Prices went through the roof, kicking profits and profit margins up at a pace not seen for at least a decade. All that happened as the virus pandemic raged on, which actually helped drive the increases instead of stifle them,” ATTOM Chief Product Officer Todd Teta said in a release. “Households that escaped job losses from the pandemic dove into the market, in large part as a response to the crisis. And the rising demand led the market boom onward. No doubt, there are warning signs that the surge could slow down this year. But 2021 will go down as one of the greatest years for sellers and one of the toughest for buyers.”

The $94,092 profit on the median-priced home sale in 2021 represented a 45.3 percent return on investment (ROI) compared to the original purchase price, up from 33.6 percent ROI last year and from 30.6 percent ROI in 2019. The latest profit margin also stood out as the largest since at least 2008.

The West had 16 of the 20 metro areas with the highest ROIs on typical home sales last year, according to ATTOM, led by Boise, Idaho (121.8 percent ROI); Spokane, Wash. (86.5 percent); Bremerton, Wash. (82.7 percent); Prescott, Ariz. (81.2 percent) and Salem, Ore. (81.2 percent).

The median home price increased 16.9 percent in 2021, hitting an all-time annual high of $301,000. The annual home-price appreciation in 2021 outpaced the combined increases of 9.5 percent in 2020 plus 5.9 percent in 2019.

The national median home price has risen 109 percent since 2011, when the housing market was mired in the aftermath of the Great Recession, according to ATTOM. The latest price spike came as more than 5.7 million single-family houses and condos sold in 2021, the highest number since at least 2005.

Metro areas with a population of 200,000 or more with the biggest year-over-year increases in median home prices were Worcester, Mass. (up 39.6 percent); Barnstable, Mass. (up 39.2 percent); Boston (up 28.8 percent); Boise, Idaho (up 27.2 percent) and Phoenix (up 26 percent).

Aside from Boston and Phoenix, the largest median-price increases in metro areas with a population of at least 1 million in 2021 came in Austin, Texas (up 25.4 percent); Nashville, Tenn. (up 22.2 percent) and Las Vegas (up 21.5 percent).

Home prices reached new peaks since the Great Recession in 168 of the 173 metros ATTOM analyzed (98 percent), including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and Houston.

The four metro areas where median prices dropped in 2021 were Gulfport, Miss. (down 4.9 percent); Peoria, Ill. (down 1.8 percent); Beaumont, Texas (down 1.4 percent) and Kansas City, Mo. (down 0.7 percent). The smallest increase was in Fort Wayne, Ind. (up 1.8 percent).

Profit margins on typical home sales rose from 2020 to 2021 in 150 of the 173 metro areas ATTOM analyzed (87 percent). The largest increases in investment returns came in Salisbury, Md. (margin up 267.2 percent); Lafayette, La. (up 227.4 percent); Montgomery, Ala. (up 195.4 percent); Mobile, Ala. (up 179.9 percent) and Augusta, Ga. (up 167.7 percent).

Among metro areas with a population of at least 1 million in 2021, the largest year-over-year ROI increases were in Raleigh, N.C. (ROI up 80.6 percent); Oklahoma City (up 64.4 percent); Virginia Beach, Va. (up 62.6 percent); Washington, D.C. (up 60.2 percent) and Chicago (up 59.4 percent).

The biggest decreases in investment returns came in Kansas City, Mo. (ROI down 33.2 percent); Gulfport, Miss. (down 23.3 percent); Harrisburg, Pa. (down 22.8 percent); Columbus, Ga. (down 20.4 percent) and Myrtle Beach, S.C. (down 17.8 percent).

Aside from Kansas City, metro areas with a population of at least 1 million and declining profit margins in 2021 included Los Angeles (down 11.9 percent); Houston (down 11.5 percent); Cleveland (down 11.4 percent) and Las Vegas (down 10.4 percent).