Markets Where a Flipper Can Make a Buck

Forbes magazine calculated whether a market is ripe for flipping by using data from Moody's Economy.com. Seattle and San Francisco top the list.
By: Matt Woolsey: REALTOR® Magazine Online
Flipping went out of fashion last year, leaving thousands of flippers in trouble in many areas, but an analysis by Forbes magazine shows that there are markets all over the country where investors can still turn a profit if they pick their properties wisely.

Forbes calculated whether a market is ripe for flipping by using data from Moody's Economy.com to calculate a market's rate of sales against inventory, and to determine supply and demand. Then it looked at current and new-home construction numbers through the end of 2008, based on data from the National Association of Home Builders; the magazine sought out markets where planned new home construction is low.

Then Forbes used price appreciation data from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® to get a sense of short-term market direction. Finally, it examined Moody's figures on investor share. The higher the share of investors, the more sellers outweigh buyers, which is bad news in a bearish market.

The results identified the following markets as the best candidates for flipping. Here are the best markets, along with the price in each market that would make a home a candidate for a quick turnover.

1. Seattle, $385,000
2. San Francisco, $759,000
3. Raleigh, N.C., $225,000
4. Houston, $150,000
5. Austin, Texas, $175,000
6. San Antonio, $150,000
7. Boston, $389,000
8. Los Angeles, $590,000
9. New York, $489,000
10. Portland, Ore., $295,000