14 Under the Radar Cities Where it Makes Sense to Flip

As a result of the housing collapse, some people have been reticent to buy a house, let alone flip one. But now, the housing market is back and on the upswing.

Over the last few years major cities everywhere have been plundered of their distressed properties. This is forcing flippers to search for properties in places where there’s not a lot of flipping activity, where prices are low, and where housing is needed due to high rent prices. Here are fourteen under the radar cities where it makes sense to flip right now.

7 Cities with Higher Inventory

Realtor.com’s annual survey for 2018 highlights the top 100 cities where there has been significant sales growth, price increases, and higher inventories among other factors. Here are the top 7 under the radar cities included in that list:

#1: Stockton, CA – Sales growth of more than 4.5% and price growth near 6.5%
#2: Lakeland, FL – Sales growth of 3% and price growth at 7%
#3: Salt Lake City, UT – Sales growth over 4.6% and price growth at 4.5%
#4: Charlotte, NC – Sales growth nearing 6% and price growth just above 3%
#5: Colorado Springs, CO – Sales growth is at 3.1% and price growth over 5.6%
#6: Nashville, TN – Sales growth at just 1% but price growth surpassing 7.6%
#7: Tulsa, OK – Sales growth above 7.5% but price growth hovering at 1%

3 Cities Where Distressed Discounts are still Deep

According to the February 2018 Housing News Report by ATTOM Data Solutions, there are still some local markets with an average discount of at least 30 percent below market value on bank owned property sales. Here are three of the under the radar opportunities that will certainly be of interest to real estate investors:

Scranton, PA –  61% average discount off market value
Utica, NY – 57% average discount off market value
Columbus, GA – 52% average discount off market value

4 Cities where Flipping Activity is Low

The number of flips rose at the end of 2017 to the highest rate since 2007. In their article on the best places to flip houses, WalletHub used 22 different metrics including purchase price, cost of renovation, and quality of life for its list of the best cities for flippers.  These under the radar cities obtained the top overall scores:

#1: El Paso, TX – Highest overall score of 69.6 based on all metrics
#2: Sioux Falls, SD – Second highest overall score of 69.5
#3: Fort Wayne, IN – Third highest overall score of 67.3
#4: Peoria, AZ – Fourth highest overall score of 66.6

The cost of renovation and remodeling was also low in most of these cities according to the report.

If you are looking for your next real estate investing opportunity, consider investigating the under the radar opportunities in these markets. Then connect with the team at Patch of Land to learn how we work with real estate entrepreneurs like you.