Moving may help homeowners see higher profits from the sale of their property, suggests a new study that links homeowners’ tenure in their homes to price appreciation. Cities where residents live in their homes for the shortest amount of time tend to see more than double the appreciation experienced by homeowners who stay put the longest, a new study from LendingTree finds.
The study from LendingTree ranks cities by how long homeowners have lived in their homes. On average, homeowners stay in their homes for about 7 years.
Among the top 10 cities on the list, which had an average tenure of 7.46 years, homes appreciated over three years by an average of 12 percent, the study finds. But for the 10 cities where homeowners tended to move most frequently—every 6.63 years, on average—the three-year average appreciation rate was 30 percent.
“This suggests that higher housing turnover drives prices upwards, while faster price appreciation could be enticing home owners to sell,” note LendingTree researchers in the study.
Here’s a closer look at the cities with the shortest average housing tenure among residents:
#48 Austin, Texas
- Average housing tenure: 6.49 years
- Median value: $283,600
- Three-year home price appreciation: 30%
#49 Phoenix
- Average housing tenure: 6.43 years
- Median value: $246,900
- Three-year home price appreciation: 25%
#50 Las Vegas
- Average housing tenure: 6.36 years
- Median value: $250,000
- Three-year home price appreciation: 32%
Here are the cities where people stay in their homes the longest:
#1 Pittsburgh
- Average housing tenure: 7.54 years
- Median value: $153,300
- Three-year home price appreciation: 14%
#2 New York
- Average housing tenure: 7.53 years
- Median value: $440,900
- Three-year home price appreciation: 11%
#3 Buffalo, N.Y.
- Average housing tenure: 7.50 years
- Median value: $148,900
- Three-year home price appreciation: 19%
Source: “Cities Where Homeowners Stay Put the Longest,” LendingTree (Jan. 24, 2019)
