Originally Published in DS News | October 31, 2016
The fix and flip market is heating back up, with the number of flipped properties this year reaching the highest level seen since pre-crisis 2007.
“Flipping activity is hot again, due to the fact that we are seeing strong price appreciation, driven by strong economic and demographic demand,” says Realtor.com’s Chief Economist, Jonathan Smoke. “It’s up in markets where prices are at new record highs. It’s also up in markets where there remain undervalued homes.”
These properties that are both the right purchase price and give the best returns are not the easiest to unearth though. That’s why Realtor.com sought out to discover the markets with best opportunities for fix and flippers.
To find these markets, they started by ranking the largest 100 markets by the ratio of flips to all home sales. They then defined a flip as any home—single-family, townhome, or condo—that was bought and resold within a 3 to 12 month period. The deals that ended in foreclosure or had a negative profit compared to the original purchase price where then excluded from the search and homes that were bought and sold by banks or other government entities were also filtered out. Finally, they ruled out active markets where the renovation costs eat up all the profit and chose to feature no more than two cities per state.
For those in the single family investment market, staying on top of the latest trends as well as growing and maintaining relationshihps in the industry are key elements to remaining successful i this market sector. The Five Star Institute hosts the annual Single-Family Rental Summit as a way to offer training, tools, and strategic partnerships that will foster business opportunity, elevate professionalism, and establish best practices across the expansive SFR industry.