by Mike Colpitts 
Housing flips return the lowest profits since 2008, according to a new study.
- The downturn in profits on flips is based on a major U.S. real estate data provider, which found the gross profit fell 14% in the first quarter of 2025 alone.
- However, an increase in profits on flips is expected to develop as interest rates drop with Fed rate cuts.
Flips return the lowest profits since 2008 when the last housing bust occurred, according to an analysis by real estate data firm Attom. The gross profit fell almost 14% on flipping homes to an average of less than $65,000 in the first quarter of the year.
The drop in profit on flipping homes is in line with the housing market, which slowed as a result of higher mortgage rates and a surplus of inventory listed for sale on the market.
The flipping market composes a substantial part of the U.S. housing market, with 20 percent of the market being investors. Home flippers purchase a home, make repairs and upgrades and then re-sell the property within one year of purchase to be considered a flipper.
“We’re seeing very low profit margins from home flipping because of the historically high cost of homes,” said Rob Barber, Attom’s CEO. “The initial buy-in for properties that are ideal for flipping, often lower priced homes that may need some work, keeps going up.”
The median price of a home flipped in the second quarter of 2025 purchased by an investor was $259,700, according to Attom. The median sales price of flipped homes was $325,000.
A shortage of lower priced homes on the market increased competition but also heightened the prices on homes in many U.S. markets. Profit on the flips had declined for more than 10 years as prices zoomed higher driven by record low mortgage rates and a growing appetite for flips.
As prices drove higher, the profit on flips dropped along with the profit on typical flips. In 2012 the average flip returned higher profits than investors have seen since then in many cases.
Attom data shows that 78,621 single-family homes and condos were flipped in the April-June quarter, accounting for just 7.4% of all home sales during the period a decline from both the first quarter and the second quarter of 2024. The trend shows a slowdown in flips return lowest profits since 2008.
Lower mortgage rates with the Fed cutting rates two weeks ago is expected to spur home sales. The sale of previously occupied U.S. homes reached their lowest level last year in nearly 30 years.
Investors often make purchases at the wrong time to capitalize on the market unless they plan on holding on to a home or other real estate long term. Real estate usually goes in cycles, approximately 10 years but varies depending on the historical nature of local markets. Judging a local market is difficult to do. Few investors have the experience to do so. Real estate agents who have sold property for many years are often the most helpful for their clients.
The Fort Myers region has some of the lowest priced home prices in Florida, making it an inviting market for home flippers.