High home prices have pushed typical flipping profit margins to a 17-year low, lowering the return on investment for house flippers when they put a house back on the market, according to a new report from ATTOM.
Typical ROI on a flipped home in the most recent quarter fell to 23.1%, continuing a decade-long downward trend and breaking a record set 17 years ago. “Typical flipping profit margins hadn't fallen below 25 percent since the second quarter of 2008, as the nation confronted an economic recession spurred by a mortgage crisis,” the report noted.
The trend has discouraged some activity. In 3Q 2025, 72,217 homes and condos were flipped, compared to 79,335 in 2Q 2025 and 75,997 in 3Q 2024. Flips represented 6.8% of all home sales in the third quarter, down from 7.3% in the second quarter.
Gross profits – the difference between a flipper’s purchase and sale price – also decreased from $73,554 in 3Q 2024 to $60,000 in 3Q 2025. Profit margins fell in 61% of the 182 metro areas studied between 2Q and 3Q 2025. The worst declines occurred in Hilo, HI, Appleton, WI, Hagerstown, MD, Erie, PA and Augusta, GA.
“What was once a flipping market that consistently delivered 40–60% returns for more than a decade beginning in 2009 has now settled into five straight quarters of returns in the 20% range. Investors must choose their markets more carefully as the game has fundamentally changed," cautioned Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM.
Only 22% of the metro areas studied had flipping profit margins exceeding 50% in the quarter. Winners included Lynchburg, VA (130.5%), Scranton, PA (104%), Pittsburgh (103.6%), Buffalo, NY (94.1%) and Shreveport, LA (86.5%).
Flips as a share of sales fell on an annual basis, with 62.6% of the areas studied reporting lower flip rates in 3Q 2025 than in the same period the previous year. Southern states were worst affected.
Metros with the highest rates of flipped homes were Columbus, GA; Tuscaloosa, AL; Spartanburg, SC; Canton, OH; and Atlanta. In metro areas with populations over 1 million, the highest rates were in Birmingham, Memphis, Dallas, and Phoenix.
The lowest flipping rates among large metros were found in Seattle, Honolulu, Hartford, Rochester, and Pittsburgh.
Counties with the largest share of flip sales were Terrell County, GA (32.4%), San Miguel County, CO (21.1%), Clayton County, GA (19.2%), Humphreys County, TN (14.95%), and Santa Cruz County, AZ (14.4%).
Nationwide, 62.9% of flipped homes were sold all-cash. The highest shares were in Flint, MI (85.3%), Erie (84.3%), PA, Youngstown, PA (84.1%), Cape Coral, FL (80.7%) and Toledo, OH (80.4%).
Homes purchased by investors for less than $50,000 had a typical ROI of just 14%. Typically, the highest ROI – 31%- was on homes purchased for $100,000 to $200,000, while homes sold for over $5 million raked in a typical 28% ROI.
FHA loans were used to purchase 10.6% of flipped homes sold, down from 12.2% in 2Q 2025, but up from 10.2% in 3Q 2024. The highest percentage were in Shreveport, LA, Stockton, CA, Modesto, CA, Port St. Lucie, FL, and Brownsville, TX.
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