ATTOM: Home Flipping Dips; Profit Margins Shrink
(House Stock Photo courtesy of Johnson via Unsplash)
ATTOM, Irvine, Calif., reported that just over 297,000 single-family homes and condos were flipped nationwide last year, the fewest since 2020 and down 3.9% from 2024’s total of 309,050.
The firm’s 2025 year-end U.S. Home Flipping Report found that homes flipped by investors accounted for 7.4% of all home sales in 2025, down slightly from 7.6% the year prior.
Investors’ profit margins shrunk as the nation saw its highest median home sales prices on record. The typical flipped home netted $65,981 in gross profit, down from $77,000 in 2024, resulting in a 25.5% return on investment, the lowest rate recorded since 2008 and down from 32.1% the prior year.
“Competition for homes remains strong in many markets due to constrained supply,” ATTOM CEO Rob Barber noted. “With prices staying elevated, investors are finding it harder to secure deals that deliver strong returns.”
“Flippers are having to get more creative to maintain profitability,” Barber added. “That could include taking on older homes, as the median flipped property in 2025 was built in 1978, the oldest since we began tracking, along with tighter cost control and more disciplined renovation strategies.”
The home flipping rate as a percentage of overall sales fell year-over-year in two-thirds (142) of the 215 metros ATTOM analyzed (those with populations of at least 200,000 and at least 100 home flips in 2025).
The largest declines were in Salisbury, Md. (down 42.2% from 2024), Tallahassee, Fla. (down 37.5%), Lafayette, Ind. (down 36%), Evansville, Ind. (down 32.9%) and Warner-Robins, Ga (down 32.6%).
The metro areas that saw the largest increases in home flipping rates were Binghamton, N.Y. (up 136.4% from 2024), Boulder, Colo. (up 72.4%), Greeley, Colo. (up 49.4%), Lexington, Ken. (up 40.3%); and Scranton, Pa. (up 31.2%).
ATTOM noted the share of flipped homes that investors acquired with the help of financing rose from 36.9% in 2024 to 37.7% in 2025.
High-level takeaways from the report:
• 68,999 homes were flipped in the fourth quarter by 54,992 investors, averaging 1.25 homes per investor
• 38% of flipped homes were purchased with financing, up from 37.2% in Q3 and 36.7% in Q4 2024
• The typical gross profit was $62,000, with a 23.6% profit margin—down from 24% in Q3 and the lowest since Q3 2007
• Flipped homes took an average of 160 days from purchase to resale
“Home flipping activity slowed in 2025 as investors faced tightening margins, with returns dropping to 25.5%–the lowest level since the Great Recession–despite record home prices,” ATTOM said. “Flips made up a smaller share of overall sales, and profits declined across most markets, signaling a more challenging environment driven by high acquisition costs and intense competition. Investors are adjusting strategies, often taking on older properties while accepting more modest returns.”
