Categories: LifestyleReal Estate

2016’s Best (Texas) Cities To Flip Houses

8 years ago

by Richie Bernardo

 

Admit it: You’re an HGTV addict. Like those of us who’ve seen every episode of “Flip or Flop” — twice — you’re eager to gut your first house and turn a six-figure profit.

Not so fast there, El Moussa couple wannabe! Before you demo that pink-tiled ’80s kitchen, you need a stern reality check from the Property Brothers. Any experienced home flipper would caution you that transforming a real-estate beast into a bankable beauty is never as easy as it looks on TV.

In other words, don’t get your hands dirty until you’ve learned a thing or two about real estate, construction and how much damage your project could do to your wallet — and to the beam that’s keeping the roof from collapsing. Just because that dilapidated Victorian treasure only cost you the price of a new Prius doesn’t mean you’ll easily earn back your investment and pocket another $55,000 — the average gross flipping profit in 2015. While home flipping enjoys its highest rate since 2007, according to RealtyTrac, homeownership is near a half-century low, which means fewer potential buyers off the bat.

So choose the right market to list your masterpiece. At least there we can help. WalletHub’s number crunchers compared the 150 largest cities based on 19 key metrics to assist with finding the best markets for home flipping. Our metrics range from “median purchase price” to “average full home remodeling costs” to “housing-market health index.” Scroll down for the winners, expert advice and the full description of our methodology.

 

Map Courtesy of WalletHub

 

 

Overall Rank City Total Score ‘House-Flipping Market Potential’ Rank ‘Renovation & Remodeling Costs’ Rank ‘Quality of Life’ Rank
1 Sioux Falls, SD 73.38 66 8 8
2 Fort Wayne, IN 69.37 90 14 47
3 El Paso, TX 69.16 117 10 43
4 Oklahoma City, OK 69.00 10 13 58
5 Lincoln, NE 68.17 18 38 22
6 Lubbock, TX 67.88 19 34 39
7 Tampa, FL 67.82 7 18 62
8 New Orleans, LA 66.58 1 37 101
9 Boise, ID 65.59 80 11 29
10 Laredo, TX 65.23 58 44 46
11 Tulsa, OK 65.15 12 16 97
12 Corpus Christi, TX 64.88 149 53 32
13 Nashville, TN 64.10 28 15 83
14 Peoria, AZ 63.77 89 7 24
15 Cape Coral, FL 63.56 15 75 12
16 Gilbert, AZ 63.39 81 62 1
17 Des Moines, IA 63.29 59 3 76
18 Pembroke Pines, FL 63.24 13 61 44
19 Springfield, MO 63.19 122 9 116
20 Grand Rapids, MI 63.07 35 29 57
21 Colorado Springs, CO 62.65 49 48 28
22 Chandler, AZ 62.52 75 45 6
23 Knoxville, TN 62.44 30 4 127
24 Orlando, FL 62.28 39 21 87
25 Tallahassee, FL 62.19 36 30 95
26 Brownsville, TX 62.15 111 27 80
27 Wichita, KS 61.90 150 22 82
28 Lexington-Fayette, KY 61.80 16 67 56
29 St. Petersburg, FL 61.69 5 77 73
30 Virginia Beach, VA 61.53 26 72 31
31 Aurora, CO 61.51 57 59 16
32 Pittsburgh, PA 61.32 2 104 55
33 Denver, CO 61.30 70 49 17
34 Columbus, OH 61.07 43 52 49
35 Greensboro, NC 61.06 78 5 69
36 Louisville, KY 60.81 14 47 100
37 Overland Park, KS 60.68 92 73 5
38 Raleigh, NC 60.45 77 43 23
39 Chesapeake, VA 60.36 31 78 26
40 Jacksonville, FL 59.71 6 66 120
41 Omaha, NE 59.32 50 76 25
42 Shreveport, LA 58.74 145 6 140
43 Albuquerque, NM 58.54 137 28 113
44 Henderson, NV 58.49 105 36 33
45 Fort Lauderdale, FL 58.46 23 57 109
46 Arlington, TX 58.29 107 26 40
47 Charlotte, NC 58.21 54 71 42
48 Durham, NC 58.07 53 69 52
49 Jackson, MS 58.04 148 1 146
50 Amarillo, TX 58.04 46 95 30
51 Memphis, TN 57.96 4 40 148
52 Cincinnati, OH 57.83 9 81 111
52 Glendale, AZ 57.83 72 17 121
54 Huntsville, AL 57.77 64 32 92
55 Norfolk, VA 57.77 11 79 104
56 Montgomery, AL 57.77 84 20 138
57 Port St. Lucie, FL 57.70 34 84 53
58 Little Rock, AR 57.68 85 2 131
59 San Antonio, TX 57.40 147 24 54
60 Spokane, WA 56.94 44 46 118
61 Augusta, GA 56.91 33 35 147
62 Phoenix, AZ 56.85 74 23 110
63 Grand Prairie, TX 56.82 113 58 15
64 Mobile, AL 56.64 62 12 144
65 Newport News, VA 56.39 22 80 96
66 Austin, TX 56.30 139 65 19
67 Tempe, AZ 56.07 71 50 90
68 Plano, TX 55.92 108 99 4
69 Madison, WI 55.61 32 119 11
70 Fort Worth, TX 55.31 133 42 38
71 Philadelphia, PA 55.28 3 113 115
72 Winston-Salem, NC 55.17 83 55 79
73 Toledo, OH 55.11 47 68 107
74 Fayetteville, NC 54.79 144 33 114
75 Indianapolis, IN 54.75 123 39 103
76 Kansas City, MO 54.69 127 41 84
77 Las Vegas, NV 54.51 97 25 112
78 Seattle, WA 54.48 21 133 9
79 Hialeah, FL 54.36 24 83 117
80 Tucson, AZ 54.30 87 19 135
81 Akron, OH 54.28 60 51 124
82 Miami, FL 54.15 40 87 86
83 Mesa, AZ 54.03 68 74 74
84 Richmond, VA 53.57 37 97 72
85 Baltimore, MD 53.53 8 91 137
86 Scottsdale, AZ 53.32 73 106 10
87 Salt Lake City, UT 52.66 114 64 85
88 North Las Vegas, NV 52.63 102 31 126
89 Anchorage, AK 52.50 63 103 64
90 Irving, TX 52.27 101 107 13
91 Tacoma, WA 52.21 41 86 122
92 Columbus, GA 52.02 56 60 145
93 Baton Rouge, LA 51.52 140 54 108
94 St. Paul, MN 51.50 109 93 37
95 Reno, NV 51.49 116 56 105
96 Garland, TX 51.27 120 82 41
97 Rancho Cucamonga, CA 50.97 98 110 14
98 Washington, DC 50.93 55 98 91
99 Sacramento, CA 50.87 93 85 77
100 Irvine, CA 50.53 130 125 2
101 Houston, TX 50.09 135 88 61
102 Chattanooga, TN 49.93 17 89 143
103 Aurora, IL 49.77 48 129 35
104 Modesto, CA 49.36 95 63 132
105 Ontario, CA 49.27 88 100 66
106 Milwaukee, WI 49.13 51 101 123
107 Minneapolis, MN 48.97 99 120 34
108 Cleveland, OH 48.22 25 105 142
109 Riverside, CA 47.93 96 109 63
110 Rochester, NY 47.42 61 92 136
111 Santa Clarita, CA 47.36 128 112 36
112 Dallas, TX 47.20 110 111 59
113 Portland, OR 47.12 76 128 45
114 San Diego, CA 46.78 126 123 27
115 Vancouver, WA 46.72 82 115 68
116 Chicago, IL 46.38 38 130 102
117 Fontana, CA 46.33 100 121 51
118 Birmingham, AL 46.30 42 90 149
119 Buffalo, NY 45.89 69 102 129
120 Fresno, CA 45.60 79 94 133
121 Detroit, MI 44.95 94 70 150
121 Stockton, CA 44.95 67 108 130
123 Anaheim, CA 44.66 118 117 67
124 Honolulu, HI 44.31 45 135 88
125 Moreno Valley, CA 44.02 104 118 94
126 Garden Grove, CA 43.48 119 114 98
127 Huntington Beach, CA 43.43 115 138 21
128 Bakersfield, CA 43.40 91 132 78
129 Providence, RI 43.32 103 96 139
130 Chula Vista, CA 43.23 132 127 50
131 Long Beach, CA 43.01 121 122 81
132 St. Louis, MO 42.75 29 136 134
133 Atlanta, GA 42.38 20 140 125
134 Santa Ana, CA 41.78 131 124 89
135 Oceanside, CA 41.56 125 126 75
136 Glendale, CA 41.45 112 131 70
137 New York, NY 39.82 52 145 65
138 Santa Rosa, CA 39.64 146 137 18
139 Jersey City, NJ 39.62 86 143 48
140 San Bernardino, CA 39.22 106 116 141
141 Fremont, CA 38.69 138 147 3
142 San Jose, CA 38.13 141 146 7
143 Oxnard, CA 37.44 143 134 71
144 Los Angeles, CA 37.18 124 139 106
145 Yonkers, NY 36.44 27 148 119
146 Worcester, MA 35.44 142 141 93
147 Newark, NJ 34.54 65 142 128
148 Boston, MA 33.50 129 149 60
149 San Francisco, CA 32.81 136 150 20
150 Oakland, CA 31.76 134 144 99

 

Graphics Courtesy of WalletHub

 

Methodology

In order to identify the best and worst cities to flip homes, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 150 most populated cities across three key dimensions: 1) House-Flipping Market Potential, 2) Renovating & Remodeling Costs, and 3) Quality of Life.

We evaluated these categories using 19 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a scale from 0 to 100, with 100 representing the most favorable conditions for house flipping.

We then calculated overall scores for each city using the weighted average across all metrics, which we then used to construct our overall rankings.

With regard to our sample, please note that “city” refers to city proper and excludes surrounding metro areas.

House-Flipping Market Potential – Total Points: 35

  • Average Gross Return on Investment (ROI): Triple Weight (~11.67 Points)
  • Median Purchase Price: Full Weight (~3.89 Points)
  • Percentage of Home Flips: Full Weight (~3.89 Points)
  • Home Turnover Rate (2015 vs. 2014): Full Weight (~3.89 Points)
    Note: This metric specifically measures the percentage of all homes sold in one year.
  • Housing-Market Health Index: Full Weight (~3.89 Points)
  • Average Sale-to-List Price Ratio: Full Weight (~3.89 Points)
  • Number of Real-Estate Agents per Capita: Full Weight (~3.89 Points)

Renovation & Remodeling Costs – Total Points: 35

  • Average Kitchen Remodeling Costs: Full Weight (~8.75 Points)
  • Average Bathroom Remodeling Costs: Full Weight (~8.75 Points)
  • Average Full Home Remodeling Costs: Full Weight (~8.75 Points)
  • Average Construction-Worker Salary: Full Weight (~8.75 Points)
    Note: “Construction Worker” includes plumbers, electricians, carpenters, etc.

Quality of Life – Total Points: 30

  • Crime Rate: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
  • GreatSchools City Score: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
  • Percentage of Population with Walkable Park Access: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
  • WalletHub “Best Cites for Families” Ranking: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
  • Annual Job-Growth Rate: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
  • Unemployment Rate: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
  • Median Salary (Adjusted for Cost of Living): Full Weight (~3.75 Points)
  • WalletHub “Fastest Growing Economies” Ranking: Full Weight (~3.75 Points)

This article originally published by WalletHub.

 

Sources: Data used to create these rankings were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Renwood RealtyTrac, Zillow, Houzz, Federal Bureau of Investigation, GreatSchools.org, Trust for Public Land, Council for Community and Economic Research and WalletHub research.

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8 years ago

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