Welcome to House Flipping Season
The evenings are light, the birds are chirping and the flowers are blooming, that can only mean one thing – it is house flipping season! Every spring, residential real estate activity increases, and stays at elevated levels through the end of summer. This is true for both owner occupied real estate, as well as investment property. This year promises to be a great year for real estate investing, as prices are rising almost across the board.
Is now a good time to buy if you are a house flipper? The answer is yes, because as prices rise, you will need to pay the higher price. The ideal situation is to buy now at a lower price, and sell later, at a higher price. According to Clear Capital, a provider of real estate data and analysis, home prices rose 10.9% in 225 of 276 US cities tracked. Additionally, according to the Conference Board, a nonprofit association of businesses, the number of consumers who intend to buy real estate in the next six months is the highest it has been in fourteen years!
As employment rates raise, many potential first time home buyers who may have had trouble finding employment will find work, move out of their parents’ homes, and finally be able to buy a home of their own. The entry level real estate market will certainly feel the effects of the release of this pent up demand.
Both the number of houses selling and the price of those houses is on the rise. The Federal Housing Finance Agency reports that house price indices were encouraging, with real estate prices rising 7.58% from November 2012 to November 2013. According to the US Census Bureau, the median sales prices of homes sold in the United States rose 8.4%. Further, the US Census Bureau reports that the total number of houses sold in 2013 rose 16.3% over 2012, after a six year decline in the number of homes sold.
All indications show that these rising prices should continue through 2014. According to Global Property Guide, the US housing market is expected to remain strong through 2014. Economists are predicting a rise in home prices of 4%, while Zillow is predicting a 3% rise.
What is good for consumers buying real estate, is good for investors also. Real estate values are on the rise and housing demand is on the rise. If you are an investor looking to rehab and flip a property, the customers are out there, you just need to give them a product that they cannot resist. Getting your real estate on the market during flipping season would be great, so buy now, get your rehab finished and get it on the market!