Flipping of expensive homes way up in 2013

Home flipping ‘” defined as when a home is purchased and subsequently sold again within six months ‘“ was serious business in 2013, according to new data from RealtyTrac. Last year, 156,862 single-family homes were flipped across the country, a year-over-year increase of 16 percent from 2012 and a whopping 114 percent increase from 2011.Home flips made up 4.6 percent of all U.S. home sales in last year, up from 4.2 percent in 2012 and 2.6 percent in 2011. Profits on a flip also jumped to an average of $58,051 in gross profit, up from $45,759 in 2012, RealtyTrac data show.
Although home flipping activity was up across all price ranges, home flips on properties worth $400,000 or more saw the greatest increase in activity ‘“ 36 percent year-over-year ‘“ according to blog Zero Hedge.‘Strong home price appreciation in many markets boosted profits for flippers in 2013 despite a shrinking inventory of lower-priced foreclosure homes to purchase,’ Daren Blomquist, vice-president of RealtyTrac, said in a statement seen by the website. [Zero Hedge]  ‘“ Hiten Samtani