NEW YORK–Once reserved for sand state markets such as South Florida and Phoenix, the practice of home flipping is now becoming the rage in the New York City market.
Home flips—the process of buying a home and quickly turning around and selling it again for a profit—were up 10% in the first half of 2016 in the borough of Queens, according to the New York Post. Overall on Long Island home prices are up nearly 40%.
While rapidly appreciating home prices have contributed to the trend, another factor is also at work. According to Attom Data Solutions, 46% of Long Island home flips and 34% of those in the five boroughs were purchased as distressed properties.
Meanwhile, the Center for New York City Neighborhoods reported that more than half of the one-to-three-unit properties flipped in 2014-15 received a foreclosure notice within the last three years before the sale.
Nearly 300 homes were flipped in Queens, and 650 on Long Island, in the first half of 2016.