The home flipping trend was on the rise in New York City over the summer and fall of 2013 as the strong real estate market beckoned “flippers” to take advantage of easy turnovers, but will 2014 prove to be just as lucrative for investors?
In an article recently posted by USA Today, New York City made their list of best places to flip a home in the U.S. based on the heavy activity seen in 2013. Their findings stated that, “There were 10,683 home flips in the New York City area last year, more than in any other MSA. On average, home-flippers earned $118,546 in the metro area, more than double what home-flippers earned across the nation.”
Certain neighborhoods across the metro area were especially sought after by what the real estate community refers to as “flippers”—investors who buy homes, and then renovate and sell them for a sizable profit. The trendy neighborhood of Williamsburg, which has had plenty of New York City’s denizens embracing the revamped Brooklyn area over the summer, saw a very high trend in flipping. One listing that was covered on Curbed was a 1,170-square-foot loft bought for $950,000 in August and relisted in October for a handsome $1.3 million.
“More than 2,000 single-family homes in the New York metro area were flipped, or purchased and resold, within six months,” according to a New York Post article based on data compiled by real estate research firm RealtyTrac. They went on to say, “That number marked a 14 percent increase from the year-ago quarter [2012]. Flips of high-end single-family homes, condos and co-ops priced above $750,000 spiked 56 percent.”
Still, the trend of flipping homes, which ran steady for three years, has been tempered of late in the nationwide market with some states dealing with distressed and unhealthy markets. The tight inventory and demand for luxury property in New York has indeed worked to the city’s advantage and aided flippers.
The trend, which has also made its way into the television arena with such hit shows as “Flip or Flop” on HGTV, has investors predicting that there will be even more flipping opportunities in 2014.