Scranton, Pittsburgh See Monetary Increases in House Flipping

Home flipping in the U.S. dropped in the third quarter of 2019, but flippers in both Scranton and Pittsburgh are seeing the rewards of their efforts.

According to ATTOM Data Solutions, home flippers in Pittsburgh had a return on investment of 132.6% in the third quarter, while those in Scranton saw a 122.5% profit from their flips. Fayette County, which is located in the Pittsburgh metro area, had flips represent 17.9% of all home sales in the same quarter.

However, across the country, home flipping dropped 12.9% from the second quarter to the third quarter of 2019, the biggest drop in five years. Only 56,566 single-family homes and condos were flipped, making up 5.4% of all home sales for the quarter, an increase from 5.2% year-to-year but down from 6% month-to-month.

Flippers are making more money on their investments though. On average, they saw a profit of nearly $65,000, or a 40.6% return on their investment, which is an increase of 1.8% from the second quarter and 3.5% year-to-year.

Most markets saw a decrease in home flips, 78% of the 147 metros in the U.S. had a drop in home flips.

“After a springtime selling binge earlier this year, the home-flipping business settled way down over the summer amid a continuing scenario of languishing profits,” said Todd Teta, chief product officer at ATTOM Data Solutions. “The retreat back to more normal levels of sales comes amid broader market forces that are making it harder and harder for investors to complete the kinds of deals they were getting as recently as last year. Those forces are keeping profits way down from post-Recession highs and show no signs of easing.”