If you’re among the millions of HGTV viewers who’ve seen an episode of “Flip or Flop,” you’ve probably thought about the thrill of gutting a house and turning a five- or six-figure profit. But the process isn’t as easy as the professionals on television make it look. Any experienced home flipper would caution you that transforming a fixer-upper into a profitable property is a difficult process.
In other words, don’t get your hands dirty until you’ve learned a thing or two about real estate, construction and how much damage your project could do to your wallet. Breathing new life into a low-cost property won’t necessarily return your full investment and allow you to pocket another $60,000, the average gross flipping profit in Q1 2019. According to RealtyTrac, though, the current homeownership rate is 64.2 percent (down from a high of 69.20 percent in 2004). That may translate to fewer potential buyers off the bat, depending on the location of your property.
To help you choose the right market to list your masterpiece, WalletHub compared more than 170 U.S. cities across 29 key indicators of market potential, cost and quality of life. Our data set ranges from median purchase price to average full home remodeling costs to housing-market health index. Read on for the winners, expert home-flipping advice and a full description of our methodology.
