Home Flipping Increasing Nationwide

In the mid-2000s, flipping homes was common.  Buyer A would buy a home from Seller, and shortly thereafter sell it to Buyer B, making a tidy profit .  But when the economy crashed and lenders tightened up their guidelines, flipping became increasingly rare. 

But in the last year, as the price of real estate has risen, flipping is slowly making a comeback.  According to RealtyTrac, nearly 5% of single-family homes sold nationwide last year were flipped within 6 months.  In fact, the number of homes flipped in 2013 increased over 15% from 2012, and nearly 115% from 2011.  The average gross profit on such flips in 2013 was over $60,000 per sale.

While flipping may be slowly increasing nationwide, according to RealtyTrac the Chicago area has not seen a big increase in flipping.  The greatest flipping increases have been out east, in Virginia Beach, VA, Jacksonville, FL, and Baltimore, MD.