Flipping houses has received widespread attention, especially since the 2020 pandemic. Celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and Miley Cyrus are showing off their spectacular returns (some more discreetly than others.) But in 2024, rising concerns about interest rates, escalating home prices, and inventory shortages could signal a tough time for flippers.
Still, there are a lot of cheap houses in Texas, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Illinois, and other areas around the country that could be great to flip. While the real estate investment landscape is filled with stories of both successful ventures and cautionary tales, one thing is very clear: where you flip matters, sometimes more than the quality of the renovation itself. For instance, investors who flipped a home in Carthage NY, as opposed to Auburn NY, saw an average 125% higher increase in home value, from primary purchase to flip price.
Vacation dreams: Off-the-beaten path destinations
In rural areas, where homes are more affordable, there’s usually a greater selection of real estate available compared to bustling cities. This means more properties in need of renovation are often still up for grabs, attracting buyers interested in turning them into vacation homes or Airbnb rentals.
Take Paw Paw, MI, an idyllic small town in Michigan. Nestled between a small lake and vineyards, Paw Paw is between Detroit and Chicago. It could be the perfect place for a Michigan vacation home, or an outright flip, with an average resale price increase of 208%. This home in Paw Paw, sold for 50K in August of 2022, and again for $260K a year later in August of 2023, yielding a $210K price increase in a year. Inventory is low in Paw Paw at present, considering this, exploring alternatives such as Edwardsburg, MI, a town with comparable demographics, and currently more properties on the market, might be worthwhile.
Another beautiful flip took place on Camano Island, Washington. Camano Island is an easy vacation destination or a commutable full time residence, under 90 minutes away from Seattle, with expansive views of the Puget Sound. This property on Camano sold for $315K in December of 2022 and again in September of 2023 for $755K, returning an increase of $440K or 140%, in 10 months.
Here are our picks for Vacation Dream Flips
| City | Avg. Initial Purchase Price | Avg. Resale Price | Avg. % Change | Avg. $ Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paw Paw, Mi | $78K | $210K | 208% | $132K |
| Carthage, NY | $97K | $219K | 198% | $123K |
| Aragon, GA | $99K | $215K | 167% | $116K |
| Quincy, FL | $125K | $258K | 150% | $133K |
| Camano Island, WA | $374K | $601K | 69% | $227K |
Suburban showstoppers: Hidden gems by the big city
The shift from cities to suburbs isn’t new; people seek privacy, space, affordability, nature, community, and more – setting the scene for the demand of the suburban flip.
Schwenksville, PA, is where we saw some of the most dramatic returns nationwide. A suburb of Philadelphia, with beautiful surroundings and a strong community feel, Schwenksville realized an average price increase of 311% from primary purchase to resale. This home sold for $195K in May of 2023, and again for $740K in February 2024, resulting in an increase in home sale value of $545K.
New Canaan CT, a suburb of New York, is an affluent suburban oasis, where flippers saw an average resale price increase of $705K in under a year. This renovated home in New Canaan, spans 2.5 acres, boasts vaulted ceilings, an open layout with a modern design, and a pool in the back for good measure. It sold in March of 2023 for $821K, and resold in January of this year, for $1.7 million, resulting in an increase of $969K, or 118%, in 10 months.
Here are our picks for Suburban Showstoppers
| City | Avg. Initial Purchase Price | Avg. Resale Price | Avg. % Change | Avg. $ Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schwenksville, PA | $140K | $540K | 311% | $400K |
| Roxboro, NC | $97K | $251K | 175% | $154K |
| Park Forest, IL | $80K | $200K | 162% | $120K |
| Petersburg, VA | $109K | $211K | 117% | $102K |
| New Canaan, CT | $871K | $1.6 MIL | 82.7% | $706K |
Urban revitalization: Cities with exceptional potential for growth
Opportunity knocks for urban revitalization through flipping homes in major cities such as Chicago,and Detroit where we found drastic average resale value increases.(Unfortunately for the Big Apple, it looks like NYC is on the outs for home flips, with the average Manhattan investor taking a loss in profits in 2023.)
Neighborhoods Englewood, Homan Square, and Back of the Yards in Chicago all had resale value increases of over 200%, and the top 11 in the city neighborhoods were over 100%. This home in Englewood originally sold for 50K in April of last year, and resold on January 9, 2024 for 270K; that’s a whopping 440% increase in home value!
Neighborhoods in Detroit are seeing major gains as the city redevelops. Island View, located on the Eastside of Detroit, experienced an average home resale value increase of 473%, followed by Highland Park at a 288% average increase, and Midwest Detroit at 234%. This home in Island View sold for $55K in December of 2022 and again for $315K in May of 2023, showing a 473% increase in value. All 10 of Detroit’s best flipping neighborhoods have seen an overall average resale increase in value of over 100%.
Major cities such as Philadelphia, PA and Wilmington, DE came in strong as well, Philly with 14 neighborhoods performing at a 100% average value increase, the top 5 being over 130% and Wilmington, DE’s top 3 neighborhoods saw a value increase of over 120% from the initial home purchase price to resale.
Here are our picks for Urban Opportunities
| City | Avg. Initial Purchase Price | Avg. Resale Price | Avg. % Change | Avg. $ Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit, MI | $99K | $196K | 126% | $97K |
| Chicago, IL | $203K | $350K | 107% | $147K |
| Philadelphia, PA | $168K | $299K | 99% | $131K |
| Wilmington, DE | $188K | $315K | 93% | $126K |
| Columbia, SC | $175K | $268K | 77% | $92K |
Overall, our top 10 picks: Best Cities for Flipping Houses
| City | Avg. Initial Purchase Price | Avg. Resale Price | Avg. % Change | Avg. $ Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schwenksville, PA | $140K | $540K | 311% | $400K |
| Paw, Paw, MI | $78K | $210K | 208% | $132K |
| Carthage, NY | $97K | $219K | 198% | $123K |
| Roxboro, NC | $97K | $251K | 175% | $251K |
| Aragon, GA | $99K | $215K | 167% | $116K |
| Park Forest, IL | $80K | $200K | 162% | $120K |
| Quincy, FL | $125K | $258K | 150% | $133K |
| Detroit, MI | $99K | $196K | 126% | $97K |
| Chicago, IL | $203K | $350K | 107% | $147K |
| New Canaan, CT | $871K | $1.6 MIL | 82.7% | $706K |
Methodology
We needed to first find homes that were actually “flipped” (i.e., where there was a focused investment on renovating and subsequent reselling of the property). So, we analyzed home purchases (and re-purchases) from January, 2022 through March 30, 2024, and excluded any “new construction” properties (or places that might have been a complete teardown on the land). We only looked at houses that were bought and sold within 90-365 days, and didn’t include places that might be in the middle of a flip or that haven’t sold yet. We then analyzed the listings to see whether those properties used terms like “new kitchen,” “new windows,” or “gut renovation” in the description from their agents, which are a pretty clear signal that the property was invested in with a flip as the endgame.
By looking at the original sale price versus resale price, compared to the increase in property value across the area over the same time period, we were able to identify which homes had the highest resale returns. Since there aren’t universal costs associated with development and renovation (e.g., square footage benchmarks don’t typically reflect the real range of costs for a premium home flip). We opted instead to compare cities “apples-to-apples” on original price vs. resale price.
Finally, to make our selections, we had to look ahead to the markets with future flipping potential. We looked at the availability of homes today and also looked at whether the area as a whole was growing in value ahead of the rest of the state. This included looking into factors that could impact home prices, like new businesses opening up, big population growth, and whether the location could have “Airbnb potential.”
Want to know more about flipping homes?
If you are looking for tips, look no further than House Flipping Flops for what NOT to do, or our House Flipping 101 Guide.
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