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Real estate investors still prefer flipping as a strategy over renting, albeit by a narrowing margin, according Auction.com's April 2015 Real Estate Investor Activity Report released on Wednesday. Whereas the data from Q1 showed that flipping was gaining momentum, the April monthly survey showed that the gap between the preference for renting and flipping was closing. The survey was collected from investors who bid on properties both online and at live events nationwide during April 2015.
Overall investor intent in April's survey showed that 50.4 percent of investors preferred flipping as a strategy, while 48.3 percent of investors said they intended to employ a hold-to-rent strategy. This data compared with 53.5 percent and 44.8 percent, respectively, in Q1. According to April's survey, investors who bid on properties at live auctions were more likely to flip the properties they purchased – in fact, a majority of survey respondents in eight of nine states where Auction.com conducted live events indicated a preference for flipping over renting.
The cash sales share for REO properties was little changed from January to February, falling only slightly from 60 percent to 59.8 percent, according to CoreLogic's February 2015 cash sales report released Wednesday. The REO cash sales share percentage of 59.8 for February still has not completely recovered from what was termed a seasonal decline from November to December, when fell from 61 point 1 percent to 58.4 percent, though it did move back up to 60 percent for January.
