Nationwide, median home prices slipped in the first quarter of 2024 and profit margins followed suit. The national median home price slid 4.3% from $435,000 to $330,000 in the quarter and the profit margin dipped from 57.1% in 4Q2023 to 55.3%.

The drop in home prices was one of the worst quarterly declines in the past decade, and this was the second consecutive quarter of lower investment returns. Even so, both prices and profit margins remained higher than they have been during most of the past decade. Indeed, the typical gross profit on typical homes sales nationwide was $120,500 in the first months of 2024, according to a new report by ATTOM.

One of every 59 single-family and condo home sales in 1Q2024 followed a foreclosure by banks and other lenders. This amounted to 1.7% of sales. Areas where Real-Estate-Owned sales accounted for the highest share of all sales in the quarter included Peoria, IL, Davenport, IA, Warner Robins, GA, Macon, GA and Baton Rouge, LA.