Home Sellers in These 5 Metros Are Seeing Profits as High as 60%

by Kiri Blakeley

Good news for sellers after a slow summer: Home sale profits are way up in certain metros.

Overall, these five metros had the largest annual profit gains in the country: St. George, UT; Gulfport, MS; Augusta, SC; Lexington, KY; and Dayton, OH.

The typical home sale netted $123,100 in raw profit in the third quarter of 2025, up 1.9% from the previous quarter, according to ATTOM's latest home sales report.

This translates to a 49.9% average national profit margin for selling single-family homes and condos, up slightly from the 49.3% profit margin posted in the second quarter but still below the 55.4% average profit sellers saw in the same quarter last year.

"Profit margins remained steady and high throughout the traditionally busier summer selling season," said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM, a real estate data analytics firm. "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 typical home sales price in the third quarter was $370,000, according to the report, up 3.4% from the same time last year.

Metros with the biggest increases

If you happen to live in one of these five metros and sold a home in the third quarter of this year, then rejoice. You had the largest profit percentage increase in the country since this time last year.

The profit margin is defined as the percent difference between the median purchase price and the median resale price for homes in a given area.

Metro areas were included if they had at least 1,000 home sales in the third quarter of 2025 and sufficient data to analyze, says the firm.

Gains are as follows: St. George, UT (up from 26.3% in the third quarter of 2024 to 37.2% in the third quarter of 2025); Gulfport, MS (up from 26.2% to 35.7%); Augusta, SC (up from 37.8% to 43.7%); Lexington, KY (up from 42.9% to 48.6%); and Dayton, OH (up from 55.1% to 60.7%).

So why did these five metros do so well?

"Many have historically offered relatively affordable housing compared to national averages," explains Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com®.

"As affordability in major metropolitan areas has eroded, buyers have increasingly turned to these still-accessible markets, boosting demand and intensifying competition. The combination of growing popularity, competitive bidding, and strong relative affordability has pushed seller profits up faster than the rest of the country."

Of the five metros, Dayton had the highest margin at 60.7%.

"Despite softer volume, home values are holding up. We’re seeing about 6% in price growth compared to last year," says Dayton agent Jeff House, a strategic real estate adviser at Real Estate Bees.

As for what attracts buyers to the area, House tells Realtor.com: "Dayton gives buyers a solid lifestyle without the cost of living in a big city. There is still the ability to find jobs, a local community feel, and good recreation options, but without the steep prices."

These metros don't have the highest profit margins overall.

For metros with populations over 1 million, the largest average home sale profit margins for the third quarter were San Jose, CA (94.3%); Seattle, WA (80.2%); Buffalo, NY (80%); Rochester, NY (77.3%); and Hartford, CT (75%).

Typically, Americans have done remarkably well in home appreciation in the last several years. In the third quarter, just over half (85) of the 157 metro areas in the analysis had average home sale profit margins above 50%.

In case you're wondering which areas saw the biggest profit margin drops, they are Ocala, FL (down from 103.9% to 55.1%); Punta Gorda, FL (down from 88.3% to 58%); Vallejo, CA (down from 66.4% to 43%); North Port-Sarasota, FL (down from 61.1 to 38.8%); and Port St. Lucie, FL (down from 77.8% to 56.1%).

It's not surprising that Florida takes four of the top five spots. The soaring costs of home insurance and HOA fees in the hurricane-prone state means home prices there have started to slide.