Fewer Home Flips, Greater Returns in 2018

There were fewer home flips in 2018 but a greater volume of profits, according to new statistics from ATTOM Data Solutions.

 

During 2018, 207,957 single-family homes and condos were flipped, a four percent decline from the 216,537 flips in 2017. Last year’s flips represented 5.6 percent of all single-family home and condo sales, roughly the same level as 2017.
While the quantity of flips declined in 2018, the total dollar volume of financed home flip purchases was $19.9 billion, an eight percent increase from $18.5 billion in 2017. The 2018 level was the highest recorded since 2007. The average gross flipping profit of $65,000 in 2018 represented an average 44.8 percent return on investment (ROI), down from 50.3 percent in 2017.

 

Among the 53 metro areas analyzed for this study, the highest percentage of 2018 completed flips purchased with financing were in Denver (53.7 percent); Providence, R.I. (51.8 percent); Seattle (51.8 percent); San Diego (51.6 percent); and San Francisco (50.8 percent).

 

“With mortgage rates remaining strong and people staying in their homes longer, we have started to see a bit of a flipping rate slowdown,” said Todd Teta, Chief Product Officer at ATTOM Data Solutions. “However, this isn’t to say home flipping is going away. The market is still ripe with investors flipping and bargains still await, especially in the lowest-priced areas of the country, where levels of financial distress remain highest.”

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