Housing

10 Best US Cities to Flip a Home

Paul Ausick

Published: May 27, 2018 8:29 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 11:06 pm

You’ve seen the TV show and now you want to try it yourself. No, not base-jumping, but buying an old, run-down house for not much money, fixing it up, and reselling it for a fat profit. Or, as the industry lingo has it, flipping the house.

The average profit on home flipping in 2017 was $68,100 according to ATTOM Data Solutions but that number does not factor in final renovation costs. And, of course, not all housing markets are equally lucrative.

ATTOM executive Daren Blomquist told Realtor.com, “The sweet spot for successful home flipping is finding the neighborhoods just emerging as the next hot neighborhoods in a city.”

Researchers at Realtor.com ranked the 200 largest U.S. metro areas by the share of all home sales that were flips which they defined as any type of home bought or sold within a 3- to 12-month period. The researchers included only homes that sold for more than the purchase price and excluded deals that ended in foreclosures or where the homes were bought and sold by banks and government entities. The final criterion was that the average flip in the market had to reach at least $30,000.

Here are the 10 best markets for flipping a home along with the median list price of a home, the percentage of flips to all home sales, and the average profit on a flip.

1. Nashville, Tennessee
   Median list price: $367,900
   Percentage of flips to total sales: 4.1%
   Average profit on a flip: $87,200
2. Fresno, California
   Median list price: $311,700
   Percentage of flips to total sales: 3.5%
   Average profit on a flip: $53,200
3. Palm Bay, Florida
   Median list price: $267,600
   Percentage of flips to total sales: 3.3%
   Average profit on a flip: $71,500
4. North Port, Florida
   Median list price: $350,000
   Percentage of flips to total sales: 3.3%
   Average profit on a flip: $85,300
5. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
   Median list price: $237,800
   Percentage of flips to total sales: 3.2%
   Average profit on a flip: $70,000
6. Chattanooga, Tennessee
   Median list price: $257,500
   Percentage of flips to total sales: 3.1%
   Average profit on a flip: $65,800
7. Los Angeles, California
   Median list price: $758,800
   Percentage of flips to total sales: 3%
   Average profit on a flip: $169,400
8. Lubbock, Texas
   Median list price: $240,000
   Percentage of flips to total sales: 2.7%
   Average profit on a flip: $46,000
9. Medford, Oregon
   Median list price: $410,000
   Percentage of flips to total sales: 2.7%
   Average profit on a flip: $51,200
10. New Orleans, Louisiana
    Median list price: $280,100
    Percentage of flips to total sales: 2.6%
    Average profit on a flip: $93,400

Details on what buyers especially look for in each city and more details are available at the realtor.com website.