S.C. average flipping profit not enough for Grand Strand flipper
By Steve Jones, The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
"Insurance, taxes, HOA fees will eat your lunch up real quick," said
Barnhill said he flipped just three homes in the last year, a small fraction of what he was doing when times were good. He said that in 2005, he was averaging 15 flips a month.
Barnhill said his profit margin is down from the heyday, but nowhere near what RealtyTrac, a nationwide real estate information service, found during the last quarter.
"We saw a few other examples of this (low margin) across the nation," Blomquist said, "and it is evidence that flippers are making poor decisions: buying too high and then not being able to sell high enough."
Barnhill said he's found the best return comes on homes he buys for between
There are things happening throughout the market that affect sales of all homes.
For one, he said that consumers are reluctant to commit to a home purchase because there is so much uncertainty in today's world. Financing can be tighter to get, too, he said.
But a third dynamic may be unique to the post-recession market.
Barnhill said that some home builders bought lots ready for construction at bargain basement prices during the recession, and that cost reduction allows them to sell new homes far cheaper than might have been the case otherwise. So cheap, in fact, they can compete with comparable existing homes, which are typically less expensive than a new home.
While things are down now, Barnhill has the optimism that is so common among Realtors.
"I believe it's maybe changing a little (for flipping)," he said, "getting a little better."
Region's home sales flat
July home sales in the territory covered under the
SC Realtors says in its July market report that there were 938 homes sold this July in the region versus 940 in
The total sales, though, ranked among the state's top four metro areas, with the 0.6 percent drop from
The Coastal Carolinas area also saw a modest increase in the median selling price of houses and condos combined, up to
While July-to-July comparisons showed basically no change between 2013 and 2014, sales were up 2.5 percent in the Coastal Carolinas region when comparing the most recent quarter of each year, and 2.1 percent comparing the first seven months of each year.
Foreclosures down statewide
While
Since last July, the report said,
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