In so many fields of industry, the regular American often seems to be squeezed out by the wealthy with their money, influence, equity and access to the latest data and technology. But in residential real estate, at least, local small-timers have found a niche that can not only be profitable for themselves but also help to revive or stabilize communities overlooked by conventional buyers and agents.
That is the thesis of an analysis of residential real estate investment trends in the first half of 2025 presented by New Western, a real estate investment marketplace. The report is based on the company’s sales data and insights from opinion polling of 1,164 real estate investors aged 18 or older in June 2025.
“Local investors are operating where affordability lives: in the starter-home band, in overlooked neighborhoods, and in properties that need work. These small, independent investors are revitalizing the homes most buyers avoid - older, outdated, often neglected - and returning them to the market as livable, affordable options,” the report stated, at lower price points than either existing home sales or new construction.
In 2025, local investors put 30,852 renovated single-family homes up for sale in the markets analyzed, compared to 18,973 new builds sold. “Flippers are nearly outpacing developers,” it added, noting that more than 2.8 million vacant homes are located in these markets, and 15 million nationwide. “It all adds up to a deep pipeline of properties ready for transformation.”
According to the report, the average existing home sale price was 54% higher, and the median was 17% higher than the equivalent revitalized home price. Fixed-uppers were also 35% to 80% more affordable than new homes, potentially within reach of first-time home buyers.
Perhaps inspired by the deluge of home-improvement shows on television, the ranks of small-scale flippers include women, many first-timers and younger generations with local knowledge who bring “surprising confidence, strategy and scale” to the market. Almost 45% have 10 or more years of experience and 25% are in the early stages.
Some 78% plan to buy one to five properties in the next 12 months, 68% invest within 30 miles of their home and most fix and flip single-family homes, the report noted, bringing speed, flexibility and ingenuity that builders and institutions cannot match. Indeed, institutional investors represented just 1.93% of all home purchases in 1Q 2025 and 6.6% of all investment purchases.
These small-scale transactions represent the most critical force in today’s housing market but fly under the radar, according to New Western, since they don’t utilize the MLS or appear in public listings. However, after renovation, they are likely to be sold on the MLS.
“The backend of the process is powerful: investor resales generated over $900 million in realtor commissions in 1Q 2025 alone,” the report stated.
“In the past five years, the real estate industry has seen a steady increase, followed by a significant cooldown, of investors seeking out fixer-upper homes and flipping them,” according to a recent Realtor.com report.
Citing data from ATTOM’s 2024 home flipping report, it said 297,885 single-family homes and condos were flipped across the country in 2024, down 7.7% from 2023. In spite of the slippage, it noted that the process was still largely profitable in certain areas of the country. In fact, when looking at 10 specific states, the average profit was $112,321.
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