Homeowners who sold their homes in the first quarter of 2017 saw the highest average price gain for home sellers since the third quarter of 2007, according to a new report from ATTOM Data Solutions.

The Q1 2017 U.S. Home Sales Report found that homeowners saw an average price gain of $44,000, which is a 24 percent return on their original purchase.

On average, homeowners owned their homes an average of 7.97 years, which is down from the record-high of 8.00 years in the previous quarter but up from this time last year when the average was 7.68 years. Prior to the recession, homeownership averaged 4.26 years between 2000 and 2007.

“The first quarter of 2017 was the most profitable time to be a home seller in nearly a decade, and yet homeowners are continuing to stay put in their homes longer before selling,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president with ATTOM Data Solutions. “This counterintuitive combination is in part the result of the low inventory of move-up homes available for current homeowners, while also perpetuating the scarcity of starter homes available for first-time homebuyers.”

The median home sale price in the first quarter across the United States was $225,000, which is up 2 percent from last quarter and up 13 percent compared to this time last year and is a new post-recession high. Additionally, all-cash sales were up from the previous quarter to 30.0 percent of all single-family and condominium sales. All-cash sales peaked in the first quarter of 2011 at 44.7 percent of sales.