Of course, you remember those thrilling days when anyone with a few spare hours and a few extra dollars could take a course in house-flipping.
You remember when home prices were climbing so fast that people figured, you’d just buy the house, hang up the “For Sale” sign and wait a minute for the convoy of potential buyers to arrive.
Was that good for the market? Was it bad for the market? Well, it was good for the flippers.
And, if you see home prices in your particular 'hood a-rising, you might just wonder if we're nipping into that territory again. And in fact, home-flipping is making a bit of a comeback, cresting currently at its highest rate since 2007, according to RealtyTrac.
And you may ask – being the curious, yet somewhat parochial soul you are – how does the great Atlanta metro region compare to other cities as a place to do that home-flippin’ business?
Well, you are in luck.
Because the data-collectin’, list-compilin’, competitor rankin’, press release releasin’ folks at have an answer for you.
Atlanta ranks 20th out of 150 when it comes to house-flipping potential, according to a report from WalletHub issued today.
Okay, that’s a bit of a simplification. Becuase we’re not 20th overall. But it may indeed have something to say about the current situation. Atlanta ranks high on metrics like return on invesment, percentage of home flips and number of real estate agents per capita.
First, the report actually ranks Atlanta a distant 133rd out of 150 on the question of its attractiveness to potential house-flipping. Atlanta simply puts up mediocre scores in two of the three categories used by WalletHub.
On renovating and remodeling costs, metro Atlanta comes in 140th. On quality of life – including metrics like school quality, proximity to parks and crime rate – Atlanta could manage only a ranking of 125th.
But when you come to the essential question – to flip or not to flip? – Atlanta powers to the top 20. Which is probably a sign of a market that is heating up.
Not everyone is thrilled about house-flipping. It tends to accelerate price increases. When it's in high gear, it doesn't necessarily mean home improvements. When things don't work out, small buyers can get crushed – and that's not good for the neighborhood.
WalletHub is a Washington, D.C.-based company that collects information, offering consumers credit data and financial advice.
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