The typical San Diego County home seller made $125,000 on the sale of their home last year, said according to a recent Zillow study.

In general, it paid off to hold on to a home for at least eight years to get a better return.

The real estate website crunched the numbers on 33 metros and found the best return on investments for homes have been in Oakland, where homeowners saw a 78 percent return on what they originally paid, or Portland, with 64 percent earned.

San Diego County ranked No. 17 as the best return for buyers, with a 33 percent jump, behind Nashville, Mesa, Philadelphia, Phoenix and other cities.

The Zillow study said that in eight years and 11 months (typical length of stay for a San Diego owner) that a seller earned $16,000 per year on their investment when they sold in 2016.

Zillow said the worst return on investment for home sellers was in Baltimore with a 5.4 percent payout, or $5,000. But, home sellers there held on to homes the least of any region studied — just three years and 5 months.

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Percent gain on sale

1. Oakland, CA — 78 percent
2. Portland, OR — 64.7 percent
3. San Jose, CA — 56.5 percent
4. Denver, CO — 56 percent
5. Los Angeles, CA — 53.7 percent
6. Sacramento, CA — 53.6 percent
7. Seattle, WA — 53.1 percent
8. Philadelphia, PA — 51.7 percent
9. New Orleans, LA — 51.5 percent
10. Boston, MA — 49.6 percent
11. Long Beach, CA — 43.7 percent
12. Fresno, CA — 42.4 percent
13. Nashville, TN — 40.4 percent
14. Miami, FL — 37.4 percent
15. Phoenix, AZ — 34.5 percent
16. Mesa, AZ — 33.8 percent
17. San Diego, CA — 33.3 percent
18. Arlington, TX — 32.8 percent
19. Honolulu, HI — 31.3 percent
20. Colorado Springs, CO — 29 percent

Source: SDuniontribune by Phillip Molnar