The Best Cities for House Flippers Right Now!

[Bevla Reeves]

I was happy to see Phoenix AZ make #9 on the list and my hometown Denver made #10! ;)

Is your city in the top 10?  Do you flip out-of-state? Are you making these kinds of margins?

Realtor.com®’s research team ranked the 100 largest markets by the ratio of flips to all home sales. They defined a flip as any home – single-family, townhome, or condo – that was purchased and resold within a 3- to 12-month time period. (Note: They did not include deals that ended in foreclosure or had a negative profit compared to the original purchase price. Also, they selected no more than two cities per state to feature in its full list available at realtor.com®.)

The following markets topped its list for home flipping meccas:

1. Deltona, Fla.

• Ratio of flips to all home sales: 4.0%
• Median flip profit: $45,830
• Median list price of all homes: $262,000

2. Stockton, Calif.

• Ratio of flips to all home sales: 3.9%
• Median flip profit: $71,050
• Median list price of all homes: $355,000

3. Nashville, Tenn.

• Ratio of flips to all home sales: 3.8%
• Median flip profit: $48,500
• Median list price of all homes: $330,000

4. Tampa, Fla.

• Ratio of flips to all home sales: 3.6%
• Median flip profit: $50,500
• Median list price of all homes: $240,000

5. New Orleans, La.

• Ratio of flips to all home sales: 3.5%
• Median flip profit: $78,300
• Median list price of all homes: $252,000

6. Los Angeles, Calif.

• Ratio of flips to all home sales: 3.0%
• Median flip profit: $89,000
• Median list price of all homes: $675,000

7. Knoxville, Tenn.

• Ratio of flips to all home sales: 2.8%
• Median flip profit: $58,450
• Median list price of all homes: $223,000

8. Providence, RI

Ratio of flips to all home sales: 2.7%

Median flip profit: $76,000

Median list price of all homes: $311,000

9. Phoenix, AZ

Ratio of flips to all home sales: 2.6%

Median price gain: $42,500

Median list price of all homes: $300,000

10. Denver, CO

Ratio of flips to all home sales: 2.5%

Median flip profit: $42,500

Median list price of all homes: $480,000

View the full list as well as more about the study’s methodology used at realtor.com®.

[Bill S.]

So a better metric IMO would be to weight the outcome with the % gain in value by the flip. High value markets like LA and Denver have very low margins. Homes are expensive, improvements are extensive and % returns are small. Just another bit of information that confirms most Realtors know nothing about flipping or buy and hold.