So Why Aren’t People Selling?
Seattle wins the wait and hold game. Homeowners hold onto their houses for longer in just four other places — Boston; San Jose; Providence, R.I.; and Hartford, Conn. — among the 40 U.S. metro areas with at least 1 million people. We’re tied with San Francisco, with sellers waiting 10.2 years.
Sure, they could get a good profit — on average, home sellers today make about 65 percent return on their original purchase before closing costs, the Attom data shows. That’s the third best profit in the country, behind the San Francisco and San Jose regions.
But then what? If you want to remain a homeowner locally, you still have to turn around and buy at today’s high prices, and deal with transaction costs like taxes and realtor commissions on both sales.
