Homeowners were staying in their homes for a record length of time before selling in the third quarter of 2018, according to a recent report by the housing data company ATTOM Data Solutions.

In its U.S. Home Sales Report for the quarter, ATTOM Data Solutions found that people who sold their home had lived there for an average of 8.23 years. This was up from 7.97 years in the second quarter of 2018 and 7.98 years in the third quarter of 2017 to hit the highest point since homeownership tenure data became available in the first quarter of 2000.

In all but 19 of 108 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed for homeownership tenure, people were staying longer in their residences before selling. The 19 markets running counter to this trend included Boston, Denver, Nashville, Phoenix, and Seattle.

Home price growth eased during the third quarter of 2018, dropping to its slowest pace since the second quarter of 2016. The median price of a home sold during the quarter was $256,000, up 1 percent from the previous quarter and 4.8 percent from the previous year.

"The continued slowdown in the rate of home price appreciation nationwide and in many local markets is a rational response to worsening home affordability – which has deteriorated at an accelerated pace this year due to rising mortgage rates," said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions. "Markets not experiencing this price appreciation cooldown may have more of an affordability cushion to work with, but some are in danger of overheating if home price gains continue to run hot."

The 150 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed for annual home price growth were evenly split between accelerating and decelerating growth. Seventy-six markets experienced faster home price growth, while 74 had slower growth.

All three Connecticut markets included in the report had accelerating home price appreciation. In the Bridgeport metro area, the median home price was up 6.9 percent to $420,000. Median home prices in the Hartford metro area rose 5.8 percent to $227,500, and were up 4.8 percent to $220,000 in the New Haven metro area.

However, each metro area remained below pre-recession peak levels. Median prices were 14.5 percent below pre-recession levels in the Bridgeport metro area, 10.2 percent lower in the New Haven metro area, and 6 percent lower in the Hartford metro area.

Nationwide, median home prices were 11 percent higher than the pre-recession peak of $230,000 recorded in the third quarter of 2005. They were also 77 percent higher than the post-recession low point of $145,000, recorded in the first quarter of 2012.

In 103 of the 150 metro areas included in the price report, median home prices were above their pre-recession levels. The most significant elevation in value occurred in Dallas-Fort Worth (86 percent higher), followed by Houston (85 percent higher) and Kennewick-Richland, Wash. (81 percent higher). The most significant decreases from pre-recession levels were in Montgomery, Ala. and York, Pa. (both 32 percent lower).

The average homeowner selling a residence in the third quarter of 2018 netted a $61,232 profit, the strongest gain since the second quarter of 2007. The average return on investment was 32.3 percent higher than the original purchase price, up from 31.6 percent in the previous quarter and 31.6 percent in the previous year but below the recent peak of 32.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017.

The highest return on investment occurred in San Jose, where the average person sold a property for more than twice the original purchase price – 108.7 percent. This was followed by average gains of 77.3 percent in San Francisco, 69.8 percent in Seattle, and 67.9 percent in Santa Rosa, Calif.

A total of 11.6 percent of single-family home and condominium sales during the quarter were distressed sales, such as foreclosures and short sales. This was up from an 11-year low of 11.2 percent in the second quarter of the year but still below the level of 12.8 percent in the third quarter of 2017.

Thirty-two of the 152 markets analyzed for distressed sales experienced an annual growth in distressed sales, including a 9 percent increase in Kansas City and 6 percent increases in Denver and Milwaukee. The metro areas with the highest overall share of distressed sales were Montgomery (32.7 percent), Atlantic City, N.J. (32.2 percent), and Youngstown, Ohio (23.2 percent).

Twenty-seven percent of sales were made to buyers who didn't use financing. This all-cash share was down from 27.4 percent in the second quarter of the year but up from 26.5 percent in the third quarter of 2017.

Institutional investors, or those buying 10 or more properties in a calendar year, purchased 2.8 percent of the residences sold in the third quarter. This was up from 2.1 percent in the previous quarter but down from 3 percent in the previous year.

The share of buyers using FHA loans, which are often given to first-time buyers, stood at 10.3 percent. This was up from 9.9 percent in the previous quarter but a year-over-year decline from 13.3 percent in the third quarter of 2017.