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IRVINE, CA— The average gross profit on national home flips completed in Q1 hit a new high of $72,450, but the share of homes sold through flipping as compared to total homes sold last quarter decreased to 4%, according to a new report from RealtyTrac. This share was one of the lowest since the second quarter of 2011, when 3.4% of all single-family homes were completed flips, the firm reports.

The report shows that 17,309 single-family homes were flipped—defined as sold as part of an arms-length sale for the second time within a 12-month period—in the first quarter.

In addition, the average gross profit—the difference between the purchase price and the flipped price—for completed flips in the first quarter was $72,450, up from $65,290 in the previous quarter and up from $61,684 in the first quarter of 2014 to the highest level going back to the first quarter of 2011, the earliest quarter where data is available. The average gross return on investment—average gross profit as a percentage of the average original purchase price—was 35.1% for completed flips in the first quarter, down slightly from 35.3% in the fourth quarter, but up slightly from 35% in the first quarter of 2014.

According to Daren Blomquist, VP of RealtyTrac, “The strong returns for home flippers in the first quarter demonstrates that there is still a need in this recovering real estate market for move-in-ready homes rehabbed to more modern tastes, particularly given the dearth of new homes being built. The challenge for flippers in 2015 will be finding inventory to flip. Flippers ideally want to buy distressed homes that provide them with an opportunity to add value in markets where there is good affordability and ample demand from buyers for the finished flip product—whether those buyers are Millennials becoming first-time homebuyers, Baby Boomers purchasing their present or future retirement home or buy-and-hold real estate investors looking for turnkey rental properties that cash flow.”

Blomquist tells GlobeSt.com, “The low supply of inventory driving up prices is a primary driver of the higher profits for flippers, particularly the lack of many new homes being built. Nicely rehabbed properties are the next best thing to new homes and typically will sell at a premium compared to other existing homes.”

The report also reveals the highest average flip returns occurred in Baltimore, Central Florida, Detroit, Tucson and Pittsburgh. The markets with the highest share of flips include Memphis, Miami, Tampa, Los Angeles and Detroit.

As GlobeSt.com reported earlier this week, Q1 showed a 6.5% quarter-over-quarter increase in favor of flipping overall, according to