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| Daren Blomquist |
IRVINE, CA – RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com), the nation’s
leading source for comprehensive housing data, released its Q4 and Year-End
2014 U.S. Home Flipping Report, which shows that 136,269 U.S. single family
homes were flipped in 2014, 5.4 percent of all single family home sales during
the year — the lowest share of flips since 2011.
A total of 32,578 U.S. single family homes were flipped in
the fourth quarter, representing 5.3 percent of all single family home sales
during the quarter.
The 5.3 percent
share of flips in the fourth quarter was up 11 percent from the previous
quarter but still down 12 percent from a year ago.
The average gross profit — the difference between the
purchase price and flipped price — for completed flips of single family homes
in the fourth quarter was $65,993, representing a 37.1 percent gross return.
That was up from an average gross profit of $65,285
representing a 36.5 percent gross return in the third quarter, and an average
gross profit of $63,017 representing a 36.4 percent gross return in the fourth
quarter of 2013.
“Investors have picked much of the low-hanging fruit when it
comes to home flipping over the past three years since home prices bottomed out
in the first quarter of 2012,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at
RealtyTrac.
“As home price appreciation slows to single digits in most
markets, flippers need to be more selective and creative about the properties
and neighborhoods they target.
“In many cases the best neighborhoods for profitable
flipping in a slower-appreciating market are those that come with a higher risk
because of location and condition of properties, but also have a bigger upside
if investors are able to correctly predict the path of progress in the region,”
Blomquist added.
“It appears that
most investors completing flips in the fourth quarter were able to do just
that. Even though the share of flips was down from a year ago during the
quarter, the average gross return per flip increased.”
For a complete copy
of the company’s news release, please contact:
Jennifer von Pohlmann
949.502.8300, ext. 139
Ginny Walker
949.502.8300, ext. 268
