Home flippers across America are watching their profits shrink, with the typical flip bringing in just $60,526 before expenses in the second quarter of 2026 — down from $71,000 a year earlier, according to a new report from real estate data firm ATTOM.
That’s a return of 21.5% on what investors paid for the property, down from 27.6% a year ago.
And that’s before paying for renovations, closing costs and other expenses — meaning the actual payday could be a whole lot smaller.
“Flippers are still making money in most markets, but the typical return continues to narrow,” ATTOM CEO Rob Barber said in the report.
“The second-quarter numbers continue the general downward trend in profit margins and gross profits we have seen over the past two years.”
It’s a far cry from the days when soaring home prices made flipping houses look like an easy way to get rich.
Now, with homes already expensive and buyers watching their budgets, investors have less room to make a quick buck.
Some 77,991 homes were flipped nationwide during the second quarter, making up 6.2% of all home sales, down from 7.3% a year earlier.
But while some investors are struggling to turn a profit, others are still laughing all the way to the bank.
In Buffalo, New York, house flippers are hitting the jackpot.
The upstate city delivered a whopping 76.6% return on the typical flip, the second-highest among major metropolitan areas with populations exceeding 1 million.
Buffalo’s relatively affordable homes and competitive housing market offer some clues to its strong showing. According to Redfin, the city’s median home sale price stood at approximately $233,000 in September, about 42% below the national average, while nearly 60% of homes sold above their asking price.
The uptick is credited to career professionals and remote workers increasingly moving to Buffalo in the last few years. The regional economy has diversified past its industrial roots into healthcare, education, technology, research, and financial services.
Only Pittsburgh did better, with an eye-popping 81.5% return.
New Orleans wasn’t far behind at 75%, while Virginia Beach clocked in at 63.4% and Philadelphia at 62.8%.
In other words, there’s still plenty of money to be made — if you know where to look.
But the picture isn’t quite as rosy everywhere in the Empire State.
Rochester had the lowest share of flipped homes among major metro areas, with just 2.7% of all sales involving properties bought and resold within a year.
Tight housing inventory in the western New York city may be limiting opportunities for investors. According to Realtor.com, the metro had just 1,151 active listings in July, with homes spending a median of only 32 days on the market, compared with 57 days nationally.
And down in Texas, the house-flipping dream is looking more like a nightmare.
San Antonio was the only major metro in the report where the typical flip actually lost money, with investors selling for slightly less than they paid — a negative 0.3% return.
Dallas wasn’t much better, with a paltry 1.8% return.
Austin came in at 2.8%, while Houston managed just 3.7%.
The weak returns come amid a much tougher selling environment across the Lone Star State, where buyers have gained the upper hand.
According to Redfin, sellers outnumbered buyers by 130% in Houston, 116% in San Antonio, 112% in Austin and 99% in Dallas in July, with sellers increasingly cutting prices and offering incentives to compete with an overflow of newly built homes.
Those razor-thin margins don’t leave much wiggle room for a leaky roof, an unexpected plumbing disaster or a renovation that goes over budget.
And because ATTOM’s figures don’t include the cost of fixing up a property, even flippers who technically made money on a sale could have ended up in the red.
The report also suggests that bigger — and cheaper — isn’t always better.
Homes purchased for between $100,000 and $200,000 delivered the strongest returns nationwide, averaging 28%.
Properties bought for $200,000 to $300,000 weren’t far behind, at 26%.
But investors who went bargain hunting at the very bottom of the market weren’t so lucky.
Homes purchased for $50,000 or less ended up losing a typical $15,000 on resale.
Turns out, the cheapest fixer-upper on the block isn’t always the bargain it appears to be.
There was at least one small bright spot for flippers: They’re getting deals done a little faster.
The typical flip took 161 days from purchase to resale, down from 166 days a year earlier.
That’s five fewer days of waiting for a buyer — though it hasn’t done much to stop profits from sliding.
