S. Florida average in home sales gains

The typical South Florida home seller in 2016 made roughly a 37 percent return — well above the national average, but still below some of the hottest markets in the country, a recent analysis shows.

Real estate website Zillow said the national average sales gain last year was 24 percent. But Oakland, Calif., sellers did the best of anyone, walking away with an average of 78 percent more than they paid, according to Zillow.

Portland, Ore., ranked second at 65 percent, while San Jose, Calif., was third at 57 percent.

Rounding out the top 10 were: Denver (56 percent), Los Angeles and Sacramento, Calif., (54), Seattle (53), Philadelphia and New Orleans (52) and Boston (50).

“Buying a home is one of the biggest financial decisions people will make in their lifetime, and it really paid off for sellers in these cities,” Zillow Chief Economist Svenja Gudell said in a statement. “Every city on this list has been growing extremely fast over the past decade, with the majority passing peak home value hit during the housing bubble. It’s extremely difficult to time the market, but if you’re a longtime homeowner in one of these cities, you could potentially see a great return on your investment.”

West Coast housing markets have performed especially well in recent years. Seattle, for instance, has had the largest price increases in the nation for 10 consecutive months, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller housing index.

Despite potentially big gains, many sellers are hesitant to sell because they don’t want to buy in a booming market. Svenja Gudell,