Americans who sold their home in the third quarter of 2015 were generally able to do so for significantly more than the property's purchase price, according to an analysis by the real estate data company RealtyTrac.

In its U.S. Home Sales Report for the third quarter, RealtyTrac says homeowners who sold a residence between July and September were able to do so for 17 percent more than the purchase price on average, or $40,658. The average seller had owned their property for 6.72 years before putting the home on the market.

The report records 2.49 million sales of single-family homes and condominiums in the first three quarters of 2015. This pace was the fastest since 2006.

The average price gain was the highest recorded since the third quarter of 2007, even as the rise in home prices has started to moderate. Single-family homes and condominiums sold for an average price of $263,976 in the third quarter, an increase of only 0.2 percent from the second quarter and 2.4 percent from the third quarter of 2014. RealtyTrac says the year-over-year price appreciation is the slowest since the first quarter of 2012.

"An increasing number of homeowners in 2015 have been cashing out the home equity they've gained during the housing recovery of the past three years," said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. "That may be a good decision, because the data points to a plateauing market going forward. Home price appreciation is slowing, a trend that will continue if interest rates rise in the coming months as expected. Meanwhile, the threat of rising interest rates combined with lower premiums for buyers using FHA loans is spurring more demand."

The report included an analysis of 171 counties where data was available on both the previous purchase price and most recent purchase price, and where at least 500 sales were recorded in the third quarter. Homeowners sold a property for less than the initial purchase price on average in only 20 of the counties.

The four counties with the most significant average price gains were all in the San Francisco and San Jose metro areas in California. San Francisco County had the highest average price gain of 58.7 percent, followed by San Mateo County (55.7 percent), Santa Clara County (47.7 percent), and Alameda County (43.1 percent). New York City had the fifth highest price gain at 41.6 percent. Homeowners in these five counties owned a property for an average of 7.04 years before selling.

Pasco County, Florida, which is located in the Tampa metro area, had the most significant price loss in third quarter sales. Homeowners in this county sold their property for an average of 11.1 percent less than what they initially paid for it. Sales in Hernando County, also in the Tampa metro area, had an average price loss of 8.5 percent.

Other areas with a large loss in sales prices included Hamilton County, in the Cincinnati metro area of Ohio, with an average loss of 9.4 percent; McHenry County, Illinois, with an average loss of 9 percent; and Mobile County, Alabama, with an average loss of 6.8 percent. Homeowners in the five counties with the most significant decrease in home prices had owned their property for 6.93 percent on average before selling.

Depreciation in home prices from the previous year was more common in RealtyTrac's analysis of 135 counties with at least 1,000 sales recorded in the third quarter. Fifty-five of these counties, or 41 percent, had a year-over-year decrease in average home prices in the third quarter.

The most significant year-over-year decrease in home prices occurred in Guilford County, North Carolina, where average prices fell 9.9 percent. Other areas with a large decrease in average prices from 2014 included Fulton County, Georgia (down 9.3 percent); Tulsa County, Oklahoma (down 9.2 percent); Baltimore County, Maryland (down 9.1 percent); and DuPage County, Illinois (down 8.9 percent).

California again accounted for several of the markets with the most significant home price appreciation, including an average increase of 17.6 percent in San Mateo County, 15.7 percent in Santa Clara County, and 13.3 percent in San Francisco County. Other areas with notable increases included New York City (up 16.1 percent on average) and Weld County, Colorado (up 14.6 percent).

Type of sales

Loans from the Federal Housing Administration have been increasingly common, accounting for 23.4 percent of single-family home and condominium sales that required financing in the third quarter. RealtyTrac says this share is an increase from 23.2 percent in the second quarter and 17.9 percent in the third quarter of 2014, with FHA loans making up the largest proportion of financed sales since the second quarter of 2012.

FHA loans were most common in Bakersfield, Calif., where they made up 41.3 percent of all sales in the third quarter. Other markets with a high share of FHA loans included Modesto, Calif. (40.4 percent); McAllen, Texas (39.7 percent); Las Vegas, Nevada (37.1 percent); Riverside, Calif. (37 percent); and Dayton, Ohio (29 percent).

Cash purchases, which are often used by investors rather than homeowners, accounted for 245,220 sales of single-family homes and condominiums in the third quarter, or 27.8 percent of these transactions. This share was down from 28.7 percent in the second quarter and 29 percent in the third quarter of 2014, reaching its lowest level since the third quarter of 2008.

Fort Smith, Arkansas, had the highest share of cash sales at 62.6 percent. Other areas where all-cash sales made up most of the transactions in the third quarter included Sebastian-Vero Beach, Fla. (55.5 percent); Punta Gorda, Fla. (52.3 percent); Montgomery, Ala. (52.1 percent); and Miami, Fla. (51.5 percent).

Cash sales were becoming more common in several other metro areas. Compared to the third quarter of 2014, they increased 36 percent in Raleigh, N.C.; 32 percent in St. Louis, Missouri; 30 percent in New York City; 26 percent in Philadelphia; and 11 percent in San Jose.

Institutional investors, defined as non-lender buyers who purchase at least 10 properties in a calendar year, made up 1.9 percent of single-family home and condominium sales in the third quarter. This share was up from the second quarter, when investors accounted for 1.6 percent of sales, but down from 5 percent in the third quarter of 2014.

In 80 metro areas, the share of institutional investor sales was higher than the national average. These sales were most prominent in Montgomery, Ala., where 9.8 percent of sales were made to investors. Other areas with a high share of investor transactions included Columbus, Ga. (7.1 percent); Muskegon, Michigan (6 percent); El Paso, Texas (5.5 percent); and Jacksonville, Fla. (5.5 percent).

The share of homes sold during some point in the foreclosure process reached its lowest point since the beginning of 2000, the earliest time for which RealtyTrac has national data. A total of 72,218 single-family homes and condominiums that were in the foreclosure process were sold in the third quarter, accounting for 8.1 percent of all sales. This share was down from 8.2 percent in the second quarter and 9.2 percent in the third quarter of 2014.

In Connecticut, Norwich and Hartford had some of the highest share of in-foreclosure sales in the nation. These sales accounted for 16.1 percent of transactions in Norwich and 12.7 percent of transactions in Hartford.

In-foreclosure sales were most prominent in Jacksonville, N.C., where they made up 19.4 percent of all sales. These sales were also common in Columbus, Ga. (17.4 percent); Wilmington, N.C. (17.4 percent); Worcester, Massachusetts (16.9 percent); and Las Vegas (15.3 percent).

There were 72,245 bank-owned single-family homes and condominiums that were sold in the third quarter, making up 8.1 percent of all sales. This share was down from 9.2 percent in the second quarter and 10.8 percent a year ago. It was also at its lowest point since the third quarter of 2007 and well below the peak of 34.3 percent in the first quarter of 2009.

Bank-owned homes made up the highest proportion of sales in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, at 31.3 percent. They were also common in Hagerstown-Martinsburg, Md. (21.4 percent); Lakeland, Fla. (20.6 percent); Muskegon, Mich. (19.7 percent); and Orlando, Fla. (19.7 percent).

In other metro areas, bank-owned sales were much lower than a year ago. The decline was steepest in Phoenix, Arizona, where these sales were down 45 percent. They fell by 44 percent in Sacramento, Calif.; 43 percent in Nashville, Tennessee, and Raleigh, N.C.; and 40 percent in Seattle, Washington.