Flipping Well: buy and sell within a year makes £30k on average

Those who bought and sold the same property in 2018 made an average of £30,150 - but the number who do ‘flip’ homes has plummeted by historical standards. 

An analysis by Hamptons International shows that the number of homes sold more than once within a 12-month period has fallen dramatically since its peak in 2004.  

Last year 18,630 homes were flipped in England and Wales, some 69 per cent less than the 60,340 homes flipped in 2004.  

Flippers now make up a smaller part of the housing market compared to historic standards: in 2004, 4.8 per cent of homes sold in England and Wales were flipped within 12 months, whereas last year the proportion was just 2.1 per cent.

The average ‘flipper’ sold their property for £30,150 more than they paid for it, pre-tax.

Despite the current market difficulties, this figure equates to a 22 per cent average gain in just a year or less - but again, this is below the 32 per cent average gain made in 2004.

The number and proportion of homes flipped has fallen in every region since 2004 but unsurprisingly London saw the biggest drop in the number of homes flipped since 2004 (down 81 per cent) followed by the North West (down 73 per cent).   

The North East is the region with the highest proportion of flipped homes - 3.6 per cent.

Hamptons says Burnley has often been the local authority with the highest proportion of homes flipped, and last year no fewer than 11.2 per cent of homes sold in that area had been bought in the previous 12 months.

“The art of flipping generally involves buying, renovating and selling a home, in most cases for a profit. Flippers play an important role in the housing market by improving existing housing stock and bringing empty homes back into use, yet the number of flipped homes has fallen considerably since its heyday in the early 2000’s” says Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons International.

“Flippers tend to operate when house prices are rising, to really maximise their profits. Between 2000 and 2007 house prices were rising at an average annual rate of 13 per cent so there were plenty of opportunities for flippers to make profits. But following the financial crash price growth has slowed, and this combined with tax changes has meant that generally it’s harder for flippers to make as much of a return as before.”