In its latest report on house flipping, CoreLogic indicated that house flipping represented 10.9% of total house sales in Q4 2018. CoreLogic also indicated that the rate of house flipping has increased for 12 consecutive quarters and is now at its highest level since 2002, the year CoreLogic began tracking this data.
The highest rate of house flipping occurred in Q1 2018 with the highest rate of flipping being 11.4%; the Q2 2006 flipping rate came in at 11.3%; Q1 2005 came in at 11.1%. Q4 2018 had the highest fourth quarter flipping rate ever.
The biggest shift in the house-flipping sector, according to CoreLogic, is that today, nearly 40% of all house flippers are corporate entities. Almost gone are the days of mom and pop and/or individual flippers who were speculating on prices. Corporate flippers are today more focused on adding value to their flips, not speculating on them.
Eight of the ten highest average flipping rates in Q4 2018 happened in Sunbelt metros. Take a look:
– Birmingham – 16.6%
– Memphis – 16.2%
– Tampa – 15.1%
– Las Vegas – 15/0%
– Camden – 14.9%
– Phoenix – 14.8%
– Palm Bay – 14.1%
– Philadelphia – 14.0%
– Lakeland – 13.9&
– Atlanta – 13.8%
The lowest average flipping rates in Q4 2018 happened in these metros:
- Austin – 4.3%
- Bridgeport – 4.4%
- Hartford – 5.1%
- New Haven – 5.3%
- Houston – 5.9%
- Springfield – 6.2%
- Pittsburgh – 6.3%
- Kansas City – 6.5%
- Elgin – 6.5%
Core Logic indicated in this latest report that the metros with the highest median returns on house flipping in Q4 2018 included:
- Detroit – 95.9%
- Philadelphia – 92.8%
- Pittsburgh – 75.0%
- Cleveland – 70.0%
- Akron – 65.7%
- Baltimore – 63.6%
- Buffalo – 62.3%
- Wilmington – 60.1%
- Toledo – 59.4%
- Milwaukee – 58.9%
These metros tend to have older housing stock. Remember however, just because these median returns are higher in metros with older housing stock doesn’t mean that such ROIs are automatic…older flips likely require more costly fixes to bring them up to market standards than newer housing stock.
Metros with the lowest median returns on house flipping in Q4 2018 included:
- Raleigh – 5.1%
- Colorado Springs – 7.7%
- Charlotte – 7.8%
- Fayetteville – 8.4%
- Kansas City – 9.4%
- Austin – 9.4%
- Phoenix – 9.9%
- Nashville – 10.3%
- Orlando – 10.3%
- Las Vegas – 10.8%
These metros tend to have newer housing stock.
