Total Single-Family Taxes Levied Nationwide in 2023 Rise Twice as Fast as in 2022; Average Property Tax Up 4 percent, to $4,062, While Effective Rate Also Increases; Highest Effective Tax Rates Remain Clustered in Northeast and Midwest

Irvine, CA – April 4, 2024 (PRNewswire) ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property, and real estate data, today released its 2023 property tax analysis for 89.4 million U.S. single family homes, which shows that $363.3 billion in property taxes were levied on single-family homes in 2023, up 6.9 percent from $339.8 billion in 2022. The increase was almost double the 3.6 percent growth rate in 2022 – and the largest in the past five years.

The report also shows that the average tax on single-family homes in the U.S. increased 4.1 percent in 2023, to $4,062, after going up 3 percent the previous year.

The latest average tax resulted in an effective tax rate nationwide of 0.87 percent. That was up slightly from 0.83 percent in 2022, marking the first increase since 2017.

View 2023 Property Taxes by County Heat Map 

The report analyzed property tax data collected from county tax assessor offices nationwide at the state, metro and county levels along with estimated market values of single-family homes calculated using an automated valuation model (AVM). The effective tax rate shows the average annual property tax expressed as a percentage of the average estimated market value of homes in each geographic area.

Effective rates increased last year throughout much of the U.S. amid a combination of declining home values and rising tax bills. Nationwide, the average home value dipped 1.7 percent as the nation’s decade-long housing market boom cooled off in 2023, especially in the second half of the year when median home-sale prices declined. The decrease in values, along with rising taxes, resulted in a small increase in effective rates.

Rate trends this year will depend heavily on whether recent drop-offs in home mortgage rates and a historically tight supply of homes for sale around the nation prompt a market rebound. A renewed spike in values that outpaces tax increases would lower effective rates, while the opposite would likely happen if prices stagnate.

“Property taxes took an unusually high turn upward last year, pushing effective rates up, while huge gaps in average tax bills between different parts of country remained in place,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “The tax increases were likely connected, at least in part, to inflationary pressures on the cost of operating local governments and schools, along with rising public employee wages and other major expenses.”

He added that “ongoing disparities in how much homeowners pay in different parts of the country are usually related to a couple of important things: varying levels of government services and reduced economies of scale in metro areas with many small municipalities that each maintain separate local governments and school systems.”

Highest effective property tax rates in Northeast and Midwest, led by Illinois, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and Nebraska
The top 10 states with the highest effective property tax rates in 2023 were all in the Northeast and Midwest. They were led by Illinois (1.88 percent), New Jersey (1.64 percent), Connecticut (1.54 percent), New York (1.46 percent) and Nebraska (1.46 percent).

Other states in the top 10 for highest effective property tax rates were Ohio (1.37 percent), Pennsylvania (1.33 percent), Vermont (1.29 percent), Kansas (1.26 percent) and New Hampshire (1.25 percent).

Lowest effective rates in South and West, led by Hawaii, Arizona, Alabama, Delaware and Tennessee
The 10 states with the lowest effective property tax rates in 2023 were all in the South and West, Topping that list were Hawaii (0.31 percent), Arizona (0.41 percent), Alabama (0.42 percent), Delaware (0.43 percent) and Tennessee (0.44 percent).

Other states with low effective property tax rates last year were Idaho (0.44 percent), Utah (0.45 percent), Nevada (0.48 percent), Colorado (0.48 percent) and West Virginia (0.49 percent).

Northeastern states still have average taxes up to 10 times higher than elsewhere
States in the Northeast region had seven of the 10 highest average property taxes in the U.S. in 2023. They were led by New Jersey, where the average single-family-home property tax of $9,488 in 2023 was almost 10 times the average of $989 in West Virginia, which had the nation’s smallest average levy. Others states in the top five last year were Connecticut ($8,022), New York ($7,936), Massachusetts ($7,414) and New Hampshire ($7,172).

The 10 states with the lowest average tax in 2023 were all in the South. Aside from West Virginia, the lowest were Alabama ($1,104), Arkansas ($1,296), Mississippi ($1,367) and Louisiana ($1,418).

Highest metro-area effective rates concentrated in Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas
Among 223 metropolitan statistical areas around the country with a population of at least 200,000 in 2023, 15 of the 25 highest effective tax rates were in Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Metro areas with the highest effective property tax rates in 2023 were Akron, OH (2.71 percent); Rockford, IL (2.41 percent); Champaign, IL (1.95 percent); Trenton, NJ (1.94 percent) and Peoria, IL (1.91 percent).

The highest effective rates among metro areas with a population of at least 1 million in 2023 were in Chicago, IL (1.84 percent); Rochester, NY (1.77 percent); Hartford, CT (1.76 percent); Cleveland, OH (1.66 percent) and Columbus, OH (1.45 percent).

The lowest effective rates in 2023 were in Daphne-Fairhope, AL (0.27 percent); Salisbury, MD (0.30 percent); Honolulu, HI (0.31 percent); Knoxville, TN (0.32 percent) and Tuscaloosa, AL (0.32 percent).

Aside from Honolulu, the lowest rates among metro areas with a population of at least 1 million in 2023 were in Phoenix, AZ (0.38 percent); Nashville, TN (0.45 percent); Las Vegas, NV (0.48 percent) and Salt Lake City, UT (0.49 percent).

Property taxes increase faster than national average in over half of the U.S.
Average property taxes rose by more than the national increase of 4.1 percent last year in 118, or 52.9 percent, of the 223 metro areas analyzed in the report.

Metro areas with a population of at least 1 million that had the largest increases in average property taxes from 2022 to 2023 were Charlotte, NC (up 31.5 percent); Indianapolis, IN (up 18.8 percent); Kansas City, MO (up 16.8 percent); Denver, CO (up 15.7 percent) and Atlanta, GA (up 15.2 percent).

Major markets with the largest decreases in average property taxes last year included Rochester, NY (down 28.6 percent); Houston, TX (down 26 percent); San Antonio, TX (down 11 percent); Baltimore, MD (down 8.3 percent) and Buffalo, NY (down 3 percent).

Average annual property tax tops $10,000 in 21 counties
Among 1,502 U.S. counties with at least 10,000 single-family homes in 2023, 21 had an average single-family-home property tax of more than $10,000. Of those, 12 were in the New York City metro area. The top five average taxes in counties with at least 100,000 single-family homes were in Essex County, NJ (outside New York City ($13,145); Bergen County, NJ (outside New York City) ($13,112); Nassau County (outside New York City), NY ($13,059); San Mateo County, CA ($13,001) and Santa Clara County (San Jose), CA ($12,462).

About ATTOM
ATTOM provides premium property data to power products that improve transparency, innovation, efficiency, and disruption in a data-driven economy. ATTOM multi-sources property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, and neighborhood data for more than 155 million U.S. residential and commercial properties covering 99 percent of the nation’s population. A rigorous data management process involving more than 20 steps validates, standardizes, and enhances the real estate data collected by ATTOM, assigning each property record with a persistent, unique ID — the ATTOM ID. The 30TB ATTOM Data Warehouse fuels innovation in many industries including mortgage, real estate, insurance, marketing, government and more through flexible data delivery solutions that include ATTOM Cloud, bulk file licenses, property data APIs, real estate market trends, property navigator and more. Also, introducing our newest innovative solution, making property data more readily accessible and optimized for AI applications– AI-Ready Solutions. 

Media Contact:
Megan Hunt
megan.hunt@attomdata.com 

Data and Report Licensing:
datareports@attomdata.com

SOURCE ATTOM

Major Home-Ownership Expenses Require Smaller Portion of Wages for Second-Straight Quarter; Historical Affordability Also Inches Upward; But Both Measures Remain Near Worst Levels in 15 Years as Home Prices Stay Close to All-Time Highs

Irvine, CA – March 28, 2024 (PRNewswire) ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property, and real estate data, today released its first-quarter 2024 U.S. Home Affordability Report showing that median-priced single-family homes and condos remain less affordable in the first quarter of 2024 compared to historical averages in more than 95 percent of counties around the nation with enough data to analyze. The latest trend continues a pattern, dating back to 2022, of home ownership requiring historically large portions of wages around the country.

The report also shows that major expenses on median-priced homes consume 32.3 percent of the average national wage in the first quarter, several points above common lending guidelines.

Both measures represent slight quarterly improvements but remain worse than a year ago and still sit at levels that have worked against home buyers for three years. That scenario has continued as increases in home values and major home-ownership expenses have outpaced gains in wages, despite a small respite from the second half of last year into the first quarter of 2024.

As a result, the portion of average wages nationwide required for typical mortgage payments, property taxes and insurance remains up almost three percentage points from a year ago and 11 points from early in 2021, right before home-mortgage rates began shooting up from their lowest levels in decades. The latest expense-to-wage ratio continues to sit above the 28 percent level preferred by mortgage lenders and marks one the highest points over the past decade.

“The picture for home buyers is brightening a little again as affordability measures have improved for the second quarter in a row,” said Rob Barber, CEO for ATTOM. “For sure, it’s not like things are coming up roses for house hunters. Affording a home remains a financial stretch, or a pipe dream, for so many households. But with mortgage rates coming down and home prices growing only by modest amounts, it’s gotten a bit easier for average wage earners to afford a home so far this year. The upcoming Spring buying season will say a lot about whether home prices remain stable enough for this trend to continue.”

The first-quarter patterns come as the national median home price has risen less than 2 percent this quarter from the previous quarter and is still down from peaks hit last year. Further aiding buyers are mortgage rates that have dipped back down below 7 percent for a 30-year fixed loan after rising close to 8 percent in 2023. Inflation, while still running close to 4 percent, is less than half the levels hit in 2021.

Those factors have helped reduce home ownership expenses following a period when they were shooting up faster than wages.

The report determined affordability for average wage earners by calculating the amount of income needed to meet major monthly home ownership expenses — including mortgage payments, property taxes and insurance — on a median-priced single-family home, assuming a 20 percent down payment and a 28 percent maximum “front-end” debt-to-income ratio. That required income was then compared to annualized average weekly wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (see full methodology below).

Compared to historical levels, median home ownership costs in 577 of the 590 counties analyzed in the first quarter of 2024 are less affordable than in the past. That number is down slightly from 584 of the same counties in the fourth quarter of last year but up from 549 in the first quarter of last year, and more than 10 times the figure from early 2021.

Meanwhile, the portion of average local wages consumed by major home-ownership expenses on typical homes is considered unaffordable during the first quarter of 2024 in 425, or 72 percent, of the 590 counties in the report, based on the 28 percent guideline. Counties with the largest populations that are unaffordable in the first quarter are Los Angeles County, CA; Maricopa County (Phoenix), AZ; San Diego County, CA; Orange County, CA (outside Los Angeles) and Miami-Dade County, FL.

The most populous of the 165 counties where major expenses on median-priced homes are still affordable for average local workers in the first quarter of 2024 are Cook County (Chicago), IL; Harris County (Houston), TX; Wayne County (Detroit), MI; Philadelphia County, PA, and Oakland County, MI (outside Detroit).

View Q1 2024 U.S. Home Affordability Heat Map 

National median home price up quarterly but still down annually, with declines throughout nation

The national median price for single-family homes and condos has grown to $336,250 in the first quarter of 2024, just $9,000 less than the all-time high of $345,000 hit several times in the past two years. The latest figure is up 1.9 percent from $330,000 in the fourth quarter of 2023 and up 5.1 percent from $319,900 in the first quarter of last year.

Data was analyzed for counties with a population of at least 100,000 and at least 50 single-family home and condo sales in the first quarter of 2024.

Among the 46 counties in the report with a population of at least 1 million, the biggest year-over-year increases in median prices during the first quarter of 2024 are in Orange County, CA (outside Los Angeles) (up 14.6 percent); Santa Clara County (San Jose), CA (up 10.3 percent); Palm Beach County (West Palm Beach), FL (up 9.9 percent); Nassau County, NY (outside New York City) (up 8.9 percent) and Miami-Dade County, FL (up 8.7 percent).

Counties with a population of at least 1 million where median prices remain down the most from the first quarter of 2023 to the same period this year are Travis County (Austin), TX (down 8.1 percent); New York County (Manhattan), NY (down 7.9 percent); Bexar County (San Antonio), TX (down 3.8 percent); Tarrant County (Forth Worth), TX (down 3.2 percent) and Alameda County (Oakland), CA (down 2.5 percent).

Prices growing faster than wages in half the U.S.

With home values mostly up annually throughout the U.S., year-over-year price changes are outpacing changes in weekly annualized wages during the early months of 2024 in 358, or 60.7 percent, of the counties analyzed in the report.

The current group of counties where prices are increasing more than wages annually, or decreasing less, includes Los Angeles County, CA; Cook County, (Chicago), IL; Maricopa County (Phoenix), AZ; San Diego County, CA, and Orange County, CA (outside Los Angeles).

On the flip side, year-over-year changes in average annualized wages have bested price movements during the first quarter of 2024 in 232 of the 590 counties analyzed (39.3 percent). The latest group where wages are increasing more, or declining less, than prices include Harris County (Houston), TX; Dallas County, TX; Tarrant County (Fort Worth), TX; Bexar County (San Antonio), TX, and Alameda County (Oakland), CA.

Portion of wages needed for home ownership dips quarterly but remains up annually in most of nation

With mortgage rates tracking downward in recent months after rising last year, the portion of average local wages consumed by major expenses on median-priced, single-family homes and condos has decreased from the fourth of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024 in 91.5 percent of the 590 counties analyzed. However, it remains up annually in 90.3 percent of those markets.

The typical $1,930 cost of mortgage payments, homeowner insurance, mortgage insurance and property taxes nationwide consumes 32.3 percent of the average annual national wage of $71,708 this quarter. That is down from 33.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 as expenses commonly have dropped almost 3 percent while wages have remained flat nationwide. But the latest portion is up from 29.6 percent in the first quarter of last year and is far above the recent low point of 21.3 percent hit in the first quarter of 2021 as wage gains have lagged behind increases in expenses over that longer time period.

The latest figure exceeds the 28 percent lending guideline in 425, or 72 percent, of the counties analyzed, assuming a 20 percent down payment. That is down from 78.3 percent of the same group of counties in the fourth quarter of 2023 but still up from 64.9 percent a year ago and more than twice the level in early 2021.

In almost a third of the markets analyzed, major expenses currently consume at least 43 percent of average local wages – an amount considered seriously unaffordable.

Home ownership on the northeast and west coasts still eats up largest chunk of wages

The top 20 counties where major ownership costs require the largest percentage of average local wages are again in the Northeast or on the west coast. The leaders are Kings County (Brooklyn), NY (109.5 percent of annualized local wages needed to buy a single-family home); Marin County, CA (outside San Francisco) (102.8 percent); Maui County, HI (100.5 percent); Santa Cruz County, CA (97.3 percent) and San Luis Obispo County, CA (95.3 percent).

Aside from Kings County, those with a population of at least 1 million where major ownership expenses typically consume more than 28 percent of average local wages in the first quarter of 2024 include Orange County, CA (outside Los Angeles) (95.1 percent required); Queens County, NY (78.5 percent); Nassau County (outside New York City), NY (74 percent) and Riverside County, CA (71.4 percent).

Counties where the smallest portion of average local wages are required to afford the median-priced home during the first quarter of this year are Macon County (Decatur), IL (11.9 percent of annualized weekly wages needed to buy a home); Schuylkill County, PA (outside Allentown) (12.1 percent); Jefferson County (Birmingham), AL (12.5 percent); Cambria County, PA (east of Pittsburgh) (12.7 percent) and Peoria County, IL (12.9 percent).

Counties with a population of at least 1 million where major ownership expenses typically consume less than 28 percent of average local wages in the first quarter of 2024 include Wayne County (Detroit), MI (13.3 percent); Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), PA (17.3 percent); Cuyahoga County (Cleveland), OH (17.7 percent); Philadelphia County, PA (18.4 percent) and Harris County (Houston), TX (24.6 percent).

Almost all local markets remain historically less affordable

Among the 590 counties analyzed, 577, or 97.8 percent, are less affordable in the first quarter of 2024 than their historic affordability averages. That is slightly better than the 99 percent level in the fourth quarter of 2023, but worse than the 93.1 percent portion from of a year ago and more than 10 times the 7.8 percent figure from the first quarter of 2021. Historical indexes have worsened since the first quarter of last year in 90.3 percent of those counties, leaving the nationwide index at one of its lowest points over the past decade.

Counties with the worst affordability indexes in the first quarter of 2024 include Linn County, IA (index of 30); Jasper County, MO (index of 55); St. Lucie County (Port St. Lucie), FL (56); Blount County, TN (outside Knoxville) (56); and Clayton County, GA (outside Atlanta) (57).

Counties with a population of at least 1 million that are less affordable than their historic averages (indexes of less than 100 are considered historically less affordable) include Mecklenburg County (Charlotte), NC (index of 65); Hillsborough County (Tampa), FL (66); Collin County (Plano), TX (67); Maricopa County (Phoenix), AZ (67) and Clark County (Las Vegas), NV (68).

Among counties with a population of at least 1 million, those where the affordability indexes have worsened most from the first quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024 are Orange County, CA (outside Los Angeles) (index down 16.5 percent); Philadelphia County, PA (down 13.5 percent); Santa Clara County (San Jose), CA (down 12.5 percent); Nassau County, NY (outside New York City) (down 11.8 percent) and Fulton County (Atlanta), GA (down 11.5 percent).

Just 2 percent of markets are more affordable than historic averages

Only 13 of the 590 counties in the report (2.2 percent) are more affordable than their historic averages in the first quarter of 2024. That is slightly more than the 1 percent level in the fourth quarter of this year, but less than 6.9 percent a year ago and far worse than the 92.2 percent portion that were historically more affordable in the first quarter of 2021.

Counties that are more affordable in the first quarter of this year compared to historical averages include Jefferson County (Birmingham), AL (index of 136); Macon County (Decatur), IL (130); New York County (Manhattan), NY (115); Midland County, TX (112) and San Francisco County, CA (109).

Report Methodology

The ATTOM U.S. Home Affordability Index analyzed median home prices derived from publicly recorded sales deed data collected by ATTOM and average wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 590 U.S. counties with a combined population of 260.8 million during the first quarter of 2024. The affordability index is based on the percentage of average wages needed to pay for major expenses on a median-priced home with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and a 20 percent down payment. Those expenses include property taxes, home insurance, mortgage payments and mortgage insurance. Average 30-year fixed interest rates from the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey were used to calculate monthly house payments.

The report determined affordability for average wage earners by calculating the amount of income needed for major home-ownership expenses on median-priced homes, assuming a loan of 80 percent of the purchase price and a 28 percent maximum “front-end” debt-to-income ratio. For example, affording the nationwide median home price of $336,250 in the first quarter of 2024 requires an annual wage of $82,708. That is based on a $67,250 down payment, a $269,000 loan and monthly expenses not exceeding the 28 percent barrier — meaning wage earners would not be spending more than 28 percent of their pay on mortgage payments, property taxes and insurance. That required income is more than the $71,708 average wage nationwide, based on the most recent average weekly wage data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, making a median-priced home nationwide unaffordable for average workers.

About ATTOM
ATTOM provides premium property data to power products that improve transparency, innovation, efficiency, and disruption in a data-driven economy. ATTOM multi-sources property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, and neighborhood data for more than 155 million U.S. residential and commercial properties covering 99 percent of the nation’s population. A rigorous data management process involving more than 20 steps validates, standardizes, and enhances the real estate data collected by ATTOM, assigning each property record with a persistent, unique ID — the ATTOM ID. The 30TB ATTOM Data Warehouse fuels innovation in many industries including mortgage, real estate, insurance, marketing, government and more through flexible data delivery solutions that include ATTOM Cloud, bulk file licenses, property data APIs, real estate market trends, property navigator and more. Also, introducing our newest innovative solution, making property data more readily accessible and optimized for AI applications– AI-Ready Solutions. 

Media Contact:
Megan Hunt
megan.hunt@attomdata.com 

Data and Report Licensing:
datareports@attomdata.com

SOURCE ATTOM

Flipping Activity by Investors Declines at Fastest Pace in 15 Years; Investment Returns on Flips Sink to Lowest Level Since 2007; Two-Thirds of Flipped Homes Still Purchased with Cash

Irvine, CA – March 21, 2024 (PRNewswire) ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property, and real estate data, today released its year-end 2023 U.S. Home Flipping Report, which shows that 308,922 single-family homes and condos in the United States were flipped in 2023. That was down 29.3 percent from 436,807 in 2022 – the largest annual drop since 2008.

The report further reveals that as the number of homes flipped by investors declined, so did flips as a portion of all home sales, from 8.6 percent in 2022 to 8.1 percent last year.

In yet another sign of down times for the home-flipping industry, profits and profit margins also sank on quick buy-renovate-and-resell projects.

Gross profits on typical home flips in 2023 dropped to $66,000 nationwide (the difference between the median sales price and the median amount originally paid by investors). That was down from $70,100 in 2022 and translated into just a 27.5 percent return on investment compared to the original acquisition price. The latest nationwide ROI (before accounting for mortgage interest, property taxes, renovation expenses and other holding costs) was down from 28.1 percent in 2022 and 35.7 percent in 2021, hitting the worst level since 2007.

Investors saw their profit margins decrease for the sixth time in the past seven years as the median price of the homes they flipped dipped slightly faster than the median price they had paid to purchase properties – 4.4 percent versus 4 percent.

“In 2023, the landscape for home flipping across the U.S. became increasingly challenging,” remarked Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “Whether the overall market has soared or seen just modest gains in recent years, investors have missed out on the action.”

He added that “the sharp decline in the number of home flips likely reflected a combination of a tight supply of homes for sale as well as dwindling returns. Either way, it will take some significant reworking of the financials for home flipping fortunes to turn back around.”

The latest drop-off in home-flipping profits came during a year when the nation’s decade-long home-price runup began to stall, leading to the weakest annual price gains since 2012 and a slight dip in profits for sellers of all kinds. But margins for home flippers had already been declining during earlier years when the broader housing market was booming. As that happened, the profit gap between investors and all sellers gradually widened.

Typical returns in 2023 remained at levels that could easily be wiped out by the carrying costs during the renovation and repair process, which usually consume 20 to 33 percent of the resale price.

Home flipping rates fall in most housing markets, with biggest decreases in the South and West
Home flips as a portion of all home sales decreased from 2022 to 2023 in 112 of the 212 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed in the report (53 percent). The top 25 largest decreases in annual flipping rates all were in the South and West. They were led by Gainesville, GA (rate down from 15.1 percent in 2022 to 9.9 percent in 2023); Phoenix, AZ (down from 16.3 percent to 11.9 percent); Prescott, AZ (down from 9.8 percent to 6 percent); Charlotte, NC (down from 14.2 percent to 10.6 percent) and Provo, UT (down from 10.9 percent to 7.5 percent).

Aside from Phoenix and Charlotte, the biggest decreases in flipping rates from 2022 to 2023 in metro areas with a population of 1 million or more were in Las Vegas, NV (rate down from 12.2 percent to 8.9 percent); Sacramento, CA (down from 9.9 percent to 6.9 percent) and Tucson, AZ (down from 14.6 percent to 11.8 percent).

Metro areas where home flipping rates increased from 2022 to 2023 were led by Macon, GA (rate up from 12.1 percent to 17 percent); Gulfport, MS (up from 3.9 percent to 7.7 percent); Jackson, MS (up from 5.8 percent to 8.4 percent); Columbus, GA (up from 10.9 percent to 13.5 percent) and Dayton, OH (up from 10 percent to 12.4 percent).

Home flips purchased with financing tick upward
Nationally, the percentage of flipped homes originally purchased by investors with financing increased in 2023 to 36.5 percent, up from 35.7 percent in 2022 and from 36.2 percent in 2021.

U.S. Home Flipping Financing Trends

Meanwhile, 63.5 percent of homes flipped in 2023 were originally bought with cash only, down from 64.3 percent in 2022 and from 63.8 percent two years earlier.

Among metropolitan areas with a population of 1 million or more and sufficient data to analyze, those with the highest percentage of flipped homes purchased by investors with financing in 2023 included San Diego, CA (56.4 percent); Seattle, WA (56.1 percent); Fresno, CA (52.2 percent); Providence, RI (49.2 percent) and Boston, MA (48.6 percent).

In that same group, the metro areas with the highest percentage of flips purchased with all cash included Detroit, MI (81.6 percent); Cleveland, OH (76.3 percent); Buffalo, NY (75.5 percent); Pittsburgh, PA (71.1 percent) and Birmingham, AL (70.2 percent).

Typical gross profits on home flips decline in nearly two-thirds of nation
Homes flipped in 2023 were sold for a median price nationwide of $306,000, generating a gross flipping profit of $66,000 above the median original purchase price paid by investors of $240,000. That national gross-profit figure was down from $70,100 in 2022 and from $75,000 in 2021, which was the highest level this century.

U.S. Home Flipping Gross Profits

Among the 56 metro areas in the U.S. with a population of 1 million or more, those with the largest gross flipping profits on median-priced transactions in 2023 were San Jose, CA ($275,250); San Francisco, CA ($170,000); Boston, MA ($158,000); New York, NY ($154,750) and San Diego, CA ($153,000).

The weakest gross flipping profits among metro areas with a population of at least 1 million in 2023 were in Austin, TX ($18,640 loss); San Antonio, TX ($12,289 profit); Dallas, TX ($14,817 profit); Houston, TX ($16,932 profit) and Phoenix, AZ ($25,000 profit).

Home flipping returns fall in two-thirds of metro-area markets
The profit margin on the typical home flips in the U.S. last year fell to 27.5 percent – the smallest investment return since 2007. The ROI on median-priced home flips nationwide has dropped 18 percentage points since 2020 and is off by 27 points since 2016.

Margins fell again last year as the median nationwide resale price on flipped homes went down 4.4 percent, from $320,000 in 2022 to $306,000 in 2023. That represented a slightly larger decrease than the 4 percent dip in the price investors had originally paid for properties they flipped ($249,900 in 2022 versus $240,000 in 2023).

Among metro areas with a population of 1 million or more, the biggest percentage-point decreases in profit margins during 2023 were in Pittsburgh, PA (ROI down from 149.8 percent in 2022 to 105.3 percent in 2023); Buffalo, NY (down from 125.2 percent to 87.4 percent); Oklahoma City, OK (down from 57.6 percent to 43.7 percent); Richmond, VA (down from 88.3 percent to 75.1 percent) and Austin, TX (down from a 9 percent profit to a 4.1 percent loss).

In that same group of markets with populations of at least 1 million, the largest increases in returns on investment for typical home flips came in Cincinnati, OH (ROI up from 40.5 percent in 2022 to 59.6 percent in 2023); Cleveland, OH (up from 39.5 percent to 54.7 percent in 2023); Honolulu, HI (up from 15.3 percent to 27 percent); Sacramento, CA (up from 9.5 percent to 19.6 percent) and Hartford, CT (up from 48.5 percent to 56.4 percent).

Among metro areas with a population of at least 1 million, the biggest gross profit margins in 2023 were in Pittsburgh, PA (105.3 percent); Buffalo, NY (87.4 percent); Baltimore, MD (75.5 percent); Richmond, VA (75.1 percent) and Philadelphia, PA (74.3 percent). The worst came in Austin TX (4.1 percent loss); Dallas, TX (4.4 percent profit); San Antonio, TX (5 percent profit); Salt Lake City, UT (6.2 percent profit) and Houston, TX (6.2 percent profit).

Average time to flip nationwide increases
Home flippers who sold homes in 2023 took an average of 169 days, or about 5 ½ months, to complete the flips. That was up from 165 days for homes flipped in 2022 and 158 days in 2021.

U.S. Average Days to Flip

FHA buyers purchase larger portion of flipped homes
Of the 308,922 U.S. homes flipped in 2023, 10.8 percent, or one of every nine, were sold to buyers using a loan backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). That was up from 8.3 percent in 2022, or one in 12, and from 8.1 percent in 2021.

Among the 212 metro areas with a population of at least 200,000 and at least 100 home flips in 2023, those with the highest percentage of flipped homes sold in 2023 to FHA buyers — typically first-time homebuyers — were Merced, CA (29.3 percent); Modesto, CA (25 percent); Visalia, CA (24.7 percent); Bakersfield, CA (24.6 percent) and Kennewick, WA (23.7 percent).

Nearly 200 counties had a home flipping rate of at least 10 percent in 2023
Among 866 counties with at least 50 home flips in 2023, there were 198 where flips accounted for at least 10 percent of all home sales last year. The top five were all in Georgia: Cobb County (Marietta) (22.4 percent); Bibb County (Macon) (18.6 percent); Douglas County (outside Atlanta) (18.4 percent); Houston County (Warner Robins) (18 percent) and Clayton County (outside Atlanta) (17.2 percent).

High-level takeaways from fourth-quarter 2023 data:

• The 65,656 home flips in the fourth quarter of 2023 were completed by 52,701 investors, a ratio of 1.25 flips per investor.
• The share of homes flipped in the fourth quarter of 2023 that were purchased by investors with financing represented 36.1 percent of all homes flipped in the quarter, down from 37.2 percent in the previous quarter but up from 34.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022. The share purchased with cash rose to 63.9 percent, up from 62.8 percent in the third quarter of 2023 but down from 65.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022.
• The gross-flipping profit on median-priced home flips in the fourth quarter of 2023 was $65,000, down from $68,154 in the third quarter but up from $59,900 in the fourth quarter of 2022. The latest figure represented a typical 27.7 percent return on investment (percentage of original purchase price). That was down from 28.8 percent in the previous quarter but up from 24.4 percent in the same period of 2022.
• The quarterly decrease in the ROI – common during that time period each year – followed gains in the second and third quarters of 2023.
• Home flips completed in the fourth quarter of 2023 took an average of 156 days, down from 165 days in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Report methodology
ATTOM analyzed sales deed data for this report. A single-family home or condo flip was any arms-length transaction that occurred in the quarter where a previous arms-length transaction on the same property had occurred within the last 12 months. The average gross flipping profit is the difference between the purchase price and the flipped price (not including rehab costs and other expenses incurred, which flipping veterans estimate typically run between 20 percent and 33 percent of a property’s after-repair value). Gross flipping return on investment was calculated by dividing the gross flipping profit by the first sale (purchase) price.

About ATTOM
ATTOM provides premium property data to power products that improve transparency, innovation, efficiency, and disruption in a data-driven economy. ATTOM multi-sources property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, and neighborhood data for more than 155 million U.S. residential and commercial properties covering 99 percent of the nation’s population. A rigorous data management process involving more than 20 steps validates, standardizes, and enhances the real estate data collected by ATTOM, assigning each property record with a persistent, unique ID — the ATTOM ID. The 30TB ATTOM Data Warehouse fuels innovation in many industries including mortgage, real estate, insurance, marketing, government and more through flexible data delivery solutions that include ATTOM Cloud, bulk file licenses, property data APIs, real estate market trends, property navigator and more. Also, introducing our newest innovative solution, making property data more readily accessible and optimized for AI applications– AI-Ready Solutions. 

Media Contact:
Megan Hunt
megan.hunt@attomdata.com

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SOURCE ATTOM