Home Flipping Still Profitable; More Popular Too

ATTOM Data released some final, year-end data for 2022 by way of its 2022 Home Flipping Report which revealed that 407,417 were flipped according to their data, a number that was up 14% from the 357,666 flipped in 2021 and up 58% from 2020. This represents the highest flipping level since 2005. 

The number of homes flipped by investors, both large and small, represented 8.4% of all home sales, also the largest figure since at least 2005. The latest portion was up from 5.9 percent in 2021 and 5.8 percent in 2020. 

While flip numbers popped last year, the typical gross profit generated by one of these sales came in at $67,900. This number is down 3% from $70,000 of profit reported in 2021. To put that figure another way, that translates to a 26.9% return on investment. The latest nationwide ROI (before accounting for mortgage interest, property taxes, renovation expenses and other holding costs) was down from 32.6% in 2021 and from 41.9% in 2020. 

"Last Year, home flippers throughout the U.S. experienced another tough period as returns took yet another hit. For the second straight year, more investors were flipping but found no simple path to quick profits," said Rob Barber, CEO for ATTOM. "Indeed, returns are now at the point where they could easily be wiped out by the carrying costs during the renovation and repair process, which usually accounts for 20 to 33% of the resale price. This year will reveal more about whether investors decide to find different ways to profit from home-flipping or take a step back and wait for conditions to get better." 

Meanwhile, 64.8% of homes flipped in 2022 were bought with all-cash, up from 64.1% in 2021 and from 59 percent two years earlier. 

Click here to view the research in its entirety, including breakdowns for states and major metropolitan.