Valley tops in US for home flippers
Aug 22, 2014, 9:40 AM | Updated: 9:41 am
PHOENIX — Home flippers in the Valley are staying busy these days.
According to data from Realty Trac, there were a nation-leading 1,438 home flips in the Phoenix area during the second quarter of 2014, compared to 1,371 in Los Angeles.
More than 7 percent of all home sales here were flips.
“Especially as the market gets older, flippers are an important piece of (a healthy housing market),” said Realty Trac Vice President Daren Blomquist. “However, if you see flipping become too dominant in the market, that’s a sign of over speculation and potentially another housing bubble.”
But we’re not in any danger of another bubble right now. The only downside for investors is they’re not making as much profit on flips these days.
“The average return on investment in Phoenix is only 16 percent, down from 31 percent a year ago,” said Blomquist.
Slightly less than 1 percent of homes flipped in the second quarter cost at least $1 million, up from 0.82 percent a year ago. Blomquist said 44 percent of homes flipped cost between $100,000 and $200,000.