With low home prices and mortgage rates, it continues to be a great time to purchase homes for use as long-term rentals. But that’s not the only way to make money in real estate these days. A new report shows that flipping homes is expected to become even more favorable for investors this year, largely due to projected price increases. Flipping is defined as buying, rehabbing and reselling for a profit, usually within three months.
But some markets are better for fixing and flipping than others. Foreclosure tracking firm RealtyTrac recently ranked the top 25 markets nationwide where flipping single family homes is expected to offer the highest rate of return. These markets have the largest difference between the average original purchased price and the eventual sales price.
The top market is Orlando, with a projected gross profit of 63 percent, followed by Las Vegas (53%), Phoenix (44%), Tampa (43%), Memphis (42%) and Miami (37%). Nearly one dozen California cities are in the top 25 flipping markets due to booming real estate markets and strong price increases. For the entire list of the top 25 markets, including cities in Arizona, Washington, Colorado and Michigan, go to RealtyTrac’s web site.