People selling a home in the first three months of the year were generally able to sell their home for significantly more than they purchased it for, according to the real estate data company RealtyTrac. However, several active markets showed a slowing of price growth and others continued to lag behind.

In its U.S. Home Sales report for the first quarter of 2016, RealtyTrac found that the average seller saw a 17 percent price gain, or a $30,500 profit, on their property. This average price gain was the largest since December 2007.

"Home sellers in many markets are now seeing average price gains close to or above what home sellers experienced during the last housing boom," said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at RealtyTrac. "That should encourage more homeowners to take advantage of the prime seller's market and list their homes for sale this year. Banks are already taking advantage of that market as evidenced by the uptick in the distressed sales share over the last two quarters."

Markets in the West, including three in California, continued to have the highest price appreciation. The average seller in San Francisco sold their home for 72 percent more than the purchase price, while the average price gains were 60 percent in San Jose and 48 percent in Los Angeles. Other significant price gains included 53 percent in Boulder, Colorado, and 51 percent in Prescott, Arizona.

In Connecticut, the New Haven-Milford metropolitan area had the strongest price gain in the first quarter. The average seller in this area sold for 10.9 percent more than the original price, a typical price gain of $18,000.

The average seller in the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk metro area saw a price gain of 6.4 percent, or $19,950. In the Hartford metro area, the typical price gain was $11,450 – an increase of 6.2 percent from the average original purchase price.

The median price for a single-family home or condominium in March was $210,000, a 9 percent increase from February and an 11 percent year-over-year increase. The median price of a home in the United States has increased for 49 consecutive months, but remains below a high point of $228,000 set in July 2005.

However, 36 percent of American markets have set a new peak median price since January 2015. This price hit a record high in seven markets in March, including four in Colorado. These high points included $451,250 in Boulder, $325,200 in Denver, $295,000 in Fort Collins, and $257,500 in Greeley.

Median prices in March were down compared to the previous year in 17 percent of the markets in the study, including markets where prices have been rising consistently for several months or years. San Francisco's median price was down 2 percent compared to March 2015, the first year-over-year decline after 47 consecutive months of increases. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, saw its median sales price decrease by 4 percent after 21 consecutive months of increase. Washington, D.C., had the largest year-over-year decline at 7 percent.

Philadelphia, Penn. had the largest year-over-year increase to its median sales price at 29 percent. Other markets with large annual increases included Rockford, Illinois (up 22 percent), Jacksonville, Florida (up 22 percent), and Cincinnati, Ohio (up 19 percent).

However, sellers in Rockford also sold for the largest loss of all markets included in the study. March sellers in 19 markets, or 15 percent of the total, sold their home for less than they purchased it for. The average loss in Rockford was 11 percent.

Other markets where sellers experienced a significant loss on their property included Winston-Salem, North Carolina (10 percent on average), Cleveland, Ohio (8 percent on average), and Columbia, South Carolina (7 percent on average).

Distressed sales were more common in the first quarter of 2016. Short sales, bank-owned sales, and homes scheduled for foreclosure made up 18.2 percent of single-family home and condominium transactions. This share was up from 17.2 percent in the last quarter of 2015, but a year-over-year decrease from 20.8 percent in the first quarter of 2015. Distressed sales as a share of total transactions peaked at 44 percent in the first quarter of 2009.

Chicago, Ill., had the largest share of distressed sales in the first quarter at 31 percent. Other markets with a high share of distressed sales included Flint, Michigan (29.9 percent), Baltimore, Maryland (28.8 percent), and Tallahassee, Florida (28.1 percent).

The largest year-over-year increase in distressed sales occurred in Little Rock, Arkansas, where these transactions were up 45 percent. Distressed sales increased 30 percent in Buffalo, N.Y., 16 percent in Pittsburgh, 14 percent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and 12 percent in Greeley, Colo.

Bank-owned homes sold at a deep discount in March, with the median price of these properties coming in at $125,000. This figure was 40 percent below the median price of all homes, up from 39 percent in February as well as March 2015.

"Given that bank-owned homes are selling at a median price that is 40 percent below the overall median sales price nationwide, the uptick in distressed sales combined with affordability constraints are contributing to faltering home appreciation in some markets – most notably the bellwether markets of Washington, D.C. and San Francisco," said Blomquist.

Some markets had even larger discounts, particularly in Ohio. Communities with the largest discount for bank-owned properties included Canton (83 percent), Dayton (66 percent), Akron (63 percent), Cleveland (57 percent), and Columbus (57 percent).

Cash sales fell for the 12th consecutive quarter and made up 31.8 percent of all single-family home and condominium sales in the first three months of 2016. This share was down from 32.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015 and 35.4 percent in the first quarter of 2015.

Buyers were most likely to purchase with cash in Florida. Single-family homes and condominiums sold to buyers who did not require financing made up 57.1 percent of all transactions in Naples, 53.9 percent in Miami, 53.4 percent in North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, 52.7 percent in Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, and 51.6 percent in Ocala.

Other areas with a large share of cash purchases included Flint (48.4 percent), Knoxville, Tenn. (46.2 percent), Detroit, Mich. (45.2 percent), and Birmingham, Alabama (45.2 percent).

For the seventh quarter in a row, the share of buyers using loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration increased. These loans are often utilized by first-time homebuyers or those who are looking to purchase a home with a low down payment. In the first quarter of 2016, 15.2 percent of sales were to FHA buyers. This share was up from 14.8 percent in the last quarter of 2015 and 13.5 percent in the first quarter of 2015.

The three markets with the highest share of FHA buyers were all in Utah. These cities included Provo (13.8 percent), Ogden (12.4 percent), and Salt Lake City (12.3 percent).

RealtyTrac's U.S. Home Sales Report is based on data representing recorded sales deeds, foreclosure filings, and loans. The report incorporates information from more than 900 counties representing more than 80 percent of the U.S. population.