House flipping has become increasingly popular over the past few years, although interest may be starting to wane.
Out of all home sales in the first quarter of 2025, 8.3% were flips. That’s up from 7.4% in the fourth quarter of 2024 but down from 8.7% in the first quarter of that year.
There’s still plenty of money to be made in home flipping although profit and return on investment dropped in the first quarter of 2025 to $65,000 and 25% respectively from $70,000 and 28% in the last quarter of 2024.
Are you thinking about getting into the fix-and-flip game? Want guidance on where to do your next flip? Read on for more essential flipping stats to have on your radar.
Nationwide house-flipping stats: Return on investment, flipping rates, and more
House flips as a percentage of all home sales
Percentage of all home sales
In the first quarter of 2025, 67,394 single-family homes and condos were flipped, 8.3% of all home sales in that quarter, according to Attom Data.
The overall number of homes flipped fell slightly from the previous quarter but the percentage of sales that were flipped homes increased by just under one percentage point.
The number and percentage of home purchases that ended up being flipped peaked in 2022, when 8.6% of all home sales that year, nearly 441,000, were flips.
Gross profit and return on investment
House-flipping gross profit and return on investment
The average return on investment (ROI) for house flipping in the first quarter of 2025 was 25%, and the average gross profit that year was $65,000, according to Attom. ROI fell three percentage points from the last quarter of 2024 and gross profit was $5,000 less. Year-over-year, profit was down $11,000 and gross ROI fell by 7.1 percentage points.
Popular as it is, house flipping has become less profitable over the past several years. In 2016, it netted an average ROI of 54% and an average gross profit of $65,000. In 2024, the average ROI was down to 30% but profit was $72,000.
Rising median home prices and more expensive materials and labor are at least partially responsible for declining returns on investment.
About 64% of flips were financed in the first quarter of 2025, up by 1 percentage point from the last quarter of 2024.
Investors are still mostly opting to buy, fix, and flip homes with cash even as the housing market has become less competitive than it was during the pandemic. Sellers typically prefer cash offers, particularly banks and lenders with distressed properties to sell.
Home-flipping returns by state
Home-flipping returns by state
Homes flipped in Pennsylvania generated the largest ROI in the first quarter of 2025, providing a 79.2% average return, according to Attom. While significant, that’s down from 2022, when houses flipped in the state had an average return of 85.6%. It’s also well off the overall 2022 maximum average ROI of 130% from homes flipped in Delaware.
Only two other states – Maryland and Michigan – had average returns on investment for house flipping of more than 60%. In 2021, eight states had average returns on house flipping of more than 60%.
In terms of gross profit, flips in Washington, D.C., brought in the most cash on average, or $185,000. That’s down from $215,012 in 2022.
Fix-and-flippers in Montana had it the worst in the first quarter of 2025; house flipping there only netted investors a 2.1% return on average in 2024, which was worth $10,588.
The ROI for house flipping in the first quarter of 2025 grew in 18 states year-over year. These are the states that saw the largest increase in ROI:
- District of Columbia: 56.9% gross flipping ROI in the first quarter of 2025 compared to 34.8% ROI in the first quarter of 2024.
- West Virginia: 57.1% from 40.4%
- Hawaii: 22.5% from 7.2%
- Alabama: 54.2% from 39.3%
- North Dakota: 42.1% from 31.9%
The states that saw the largest drop in ROI from the first quarter of 2024 to the first quarter of 2025:
- Delaware: 40.4% gross flipping ROI in the first quarter of 2025 compared to 122.6% in the first quarter of 2024.
- Iowa: 32.9% ROI from 70.4%
- Vermont: 33.2% ROI from 60.7%
- Maine: 18.6% ROI from 43.1%
- Ohio: 39.1% ROI from 60%
The best and worst markets for house flipping
The greater Buffalo, New York metro area boasts the best returns for house flippers, netting them an average of 102.1% back on their investments in the first quarter of 2025.
The best market by gross profit is San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara in California, where flippers made an average of $295,125.
The worst market for house flipping is Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, Alabama. The average ROI was -3.7%, the only negative return in the country, and profits were -$14,000
These are the best and worst markets for house flipping by gross return on investment in the first quarter of 2025.
Best markets for house flipping by ROI
| Market | Q1 2025 Flipping Gross Profit | Q1 2025 Gross ROI |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY | $117,450 | 102.1% |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $102,700 | 100.4% |
| Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA | $71,000 | 89.9% |
| Peoria, IL | $53,000 | 89.1% |
| Rockford, IL | $79,186 | 87.7% |
| South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI | $89,274 | 87.4% |
| Lansing-East Lansing, MI | $84,243 | 84.2% |
| Flint, MI | $56,750 | 83.2% |
| Chattanooga, TN-GA | $122,000 | 81.3% |
| Springfield, IL | $66,250 | 80.3% |
Worst markets for house flipping
Worst markets for house flipping by ROI
| Market | Q1 2025 Flipping Gross Profit | Q1 2025Gross ROI |
|---|---|---|
| Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL | $(14,000) | (3.7%) |
| Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL | $4,607 | 0.6% |
| Austin-Round Rock, TX | $4,491 | 1.0% |
| Wichita, KS | $6,087 | 3.5% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $12,100 | 3.7% |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | $13,815 | 5.0% |
| El Paso, TX | $11,780 | 5.1% |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $37,750 | 5.2% |
| Provo-Orem, UT | $28,861 | 5.7% |
| Fort Collins, CO | $30,000 | 6.0% |
The bottom line for investing in house flipping
House flipping is not generating the same return on investment as in years past, but gross profit has shown promising signs. House prices were growing faster than the value of flipped homes for a number of years, which has cut into returns.
Inflation, stubbornly high mortgage rates, and other economic headwinds challenged homebuyers in recent years as well as home flippers who were looking to resell. Still, house flipping remains popular, and there are lucrative markets to tap into.
Statistics aren't everything, but they can provide a good idea of what sort of competition house flippers face and in which markets to focus investments. They also offer a baseline to set expectations for profits and ROI.
The bottom line is that the capital costs of house flipping remain high, while returns have shrunk.
Thankfully, there’s more than one way to invest in real estate, including residential real estate. Real estate investment trusts, or REITs, are among the most accessible ways for anyone to gain exposure to real estate without having to oversee a construction project and put a sizable amount of cash on the line.
Sources
Attom Data (2025). “Home Flipping Profits Drop in First Quarter.”
