U.S. homeowners who sold their homes in March 2016 earned an average rate of 17% or average amount of $30,500 over the amount they originally paid for their homes, the highest average rate or amount gained by home sellers since December 2007, according to RealtyTrac’s report, based on studies of county sales deeds in more than 900 counties across the U.S. December 2007 is often considered the start of the U.S. recession that arose from the collapse of the U.S. housing industry.
Among 125 metro areas with at least 300 home sales in March 2016, the five metro areas with the biggest average rates of gains were:
San Francisco, California 72 %
San Jose, California 60%
Boulder, Colorado 53%
Prescottt, Arizona 51%
Los Angeles, California 48%
In metro areas in the state of Florida, these were the average home price gains in March 2016:
AVERAGE PRICE GAINS for HOMES SOLD in MARCH 2016 in Metro Areas with at least 300 homes sold
| Rank | Metro Area | Sale Price Gain |
| 1 | Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island | $61,150 |
| (Collier County) | ||
| 2 | North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton | $53,000 |
| (Manatee and Sarasota Counties) | ||
| 3 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach | $50,000 |
| (Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties) | ||
| 4 | Cape Coral-Fort Myers | $46,205 |
| (Lee County) | ||
| 5 | Port St. Lucie | $38,600 |
| (Martin and St. Lucie Counties) | ||
| 6 | Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville | $27,050 |
| (Brevard County) | ||
| 7 | Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach | $26,000 |
| (Volusia County) | ||
| 8 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford | $23,000 |
| (Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole Counties) | ||
| 9 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | $21,500 |
| 10 | Lakeland-Winter Haven | $19,100 |
| (Polk County) | ||
| (Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas Counties) | ||
| 11 | Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent | $9,170 |
| (Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties) | ||
| 12 | Jacksonville | $6,900 |
| (Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns Counties) | ||
| 13 | Tallahassee | $5,750 |
| (Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon and Wakulla Counties) | ||
| 14 | Ocala | $5,275 |
| (Marion County) | ||
As seen in the ranking above, the Tampa metro area is around the middle, indicating that despite the increase in average and median home prices in the Tampa metro area, Tampa Bay homes are still among the most affordable in Florida.
Combined with the lower cost of living index in the Tampa Bay metro area, the affordability of home prices despite price increases helps make Tampa and its environs attractive to families looking for a place to move to. When it’s time to sell, homeowners can also expect to earn from price gains despite lower average rates of gains compared to Florida metro areas with wealthier neighborhoods.
Based on average rates of gains, the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metro area posted the biggest:
1 North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton 33.8%
2. Cape Coral-Fort Myers 32.9%
3. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach 31.3%
4. Port St. Lucie 29.7%
5. Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island 25.6%
6. Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville 22.1%
7. Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach 20.2%
8. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 16.3%
9. Lakeland-Winter Haven 16.2%