Investors purchasing properties through online auctions are showing more signs of flipping properties again, according to Auction.com’s Fourth Quarter 2014 Real Estate Investor Activity Report, a nationwide survey of real estate investors who bid on properties at auctions.
“It’s probably not a coincidence that some of the highest priced markets, such as California and the Northeast, are seeing more flipping activities, since higher priced homes are more difficult to rent out profitably,” says Rick Sharga, Auction.com’s executive vice president. “But it’s also very possible that part of the reason we’re seeing an increase in flipping is that in many of these markets there’s simply not enough new or existing home inventory to meet buyer demand. That spells opportunity for real estate investors who can buy, fix, and flip a property quickly and efficiently.”
In the survey, more than half – 51 percent – of those who described themselves as full-time “real estate investors” said they plan to flip the properties they get in an auction, while 46 percent said they planned to take a hold-to-rent strategy.