High-priced flips garner big profits across US

Luxury flipping is back, according to new numbers from property data company RealtyTrac that shows an increase in the number of “flipped” residences priced above $400,000, despite a slowdown at the end of 2013. 

Home flips, which occur by definition in less than six months, are on the rise nationwide, up 114 percent since 2011, according to the new figures.

The biggest increase in flipping nationwide were in the high-priced home category — homes with a new sale price of $400,000 or more increased 36 percent since 2012, while home flips valued below $400,000 only increased 17 percent, according to Property Wire.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

“Strong home price appreciation in many markets boosted profits for flippers in 2013 despite a shrinking inventory of lower priced foreclosure homes to purchase,” Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac, told Property Wire.

According to the report, the average gross profit for flipping a home in 2013 was about $58,000, and the average time it took was 84 days. [Property Wire] — Angela Hunt