The glory days of real estate investors buying and flipping houses for a quick profit seem to be winding down. It appears that investors are currently losing approximately one in seven homes they sell.
In some US cities, sky-high home prices and high mortgage rates have dampened homebuyer demand, forcing investors to sell homes at a loss. A recent report by Redfin shows Investors lost 13.5 percent of the homes they sold in March, compared to just 4.8 percent of all U.S. homes sold at a loss.
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February real estate numbers
This comes after a dismal month in February, when real estate investors lost 14.5% of homes sold – the highest rate since 2016 and a far cry from the monthly low of 2.8% recorded in May 2022. The first quarter of 2023 appeared real. Property investors bought 48.6% fewer homes compared to last year as higher interest rates, lower rents and lower home values fed into higher profits.
The decline outpaced a 40.7% decline in total home purchases in major metro redfin tracks, marking the largest annual decline on record. While these statistics dispel the notion that buying and selling real estate can generate huge profits, it’s important to note that investors are generally in a relatively strong position.
Now, the question arises: Where are houses sold at a loss? according to Redfin, real estate investors may suffer losses in markets that have experienced significant increases in home prices during the pandemic. To determine this, the report examined data from the largest metropolitan areas in 40 US cities.
Profitability has been hampered by high mortgage rates, which have increased the monthly payment burden for the average homebuyer. As a result, the slowdown in home buying demand has led to lower sales prices, resulting in a large number of investors selling their properties at a loss.
Very difficult markets
The hardest-hit market during the reporting period was Phoenix, where investor-sold homes lost just over 30%. Close behind were Las Vegas, 28%; Jacksonville, Florida, 20.9%; Sacramento, California, 20.2%; and Charlotte, North Carolina, 17.4%.
Van Welborn, a Redfin agent in Phoenix, shared an example. “I recently showed one of my buyers a three-bedroom, single-family home in Glendale that was listed by an investor. My client ended up finding another house they liked and the investor lost about $20,000. The investor bought the house. It sold for $450,000 and sold for $480,000, but put in $50,000 in work. The home sold for less than $550,000 after being on the market for four months.
On the flip side, affordable investors who didn’t experience housing prices during the pandemic are less likely to lose. Some South Florida markets have shown more resilience.
For example, in March, only 1.7% of homes sold by investors in Virginia Beach, Virginia resulted in a loss – a huge difference compared to Phoenix. Virginia Beach is followed by West Palm Beach, Florida, 2.4%; Miami, 2.5%; Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 2.5%; and Warren, Michigan, 2.6%.
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Why don’t investors wait to sell until the housing market recovers? According to Redfin Senior Economist Shahriar Bokhari, many Long-term investors who rent out their properties are doing just that. But for many surfers, especially those who have made a recent purchase, waiting isn’t financially feasible.
According to Redfin, in March, roughly 1 in 5 homes sold through home foreclosures resulted in a loss.
“Owning a non-income producing home can be expensive because the owner has to pay property taxes, along with operating expenses and monthly mortgage payments in some cases,” Bokhari said.
While the number of investor-owned homes for sale is high these days, it’s important to remember that many real estate investors — large companies and individual investors — are buying and selling homes, even in cooling housing markets.
According to Redfin data, the typical investor sold a home in March for 45.9% of its purchase price ($145,714). However, these profits are down 55.3% ($173,458) from last year and 67.9% ($199,274) in June 2022.
With a further slowdown in the economy and threats to home prices that could present additional challenges for residential real estate investors, it is worth exploring alternative ways to participate in the real estate market. If buying and selling homes is currently off the table, consider alternative approaches.
Vacation rentals
Some real estate experts believe that vacation rentals offer the fastest way to make money in today’s real estate market. In the year In 2023, as Americans opt for longer and more luxurious vacations, investing in vacation rentals makes sense, all things considered. And the best part? Anyone can get started with just $100.
JourneyThe first artificial intelligence (AI) enabled hospitality platform, is revolutionizing the short-term rental industry. JurnyOS 2.0 has reported a staggering 100% increase in daily active users since its launch last month. Powered by GPT-4 and featuring dynamic AI tools, this cutting-edge operating system takes care of all the heavy lifting for asset managers. From streamlining operations to enhancing guest experiences, Journey’s all-in-one solution streamlines and automates the management of all short-term rental properties worldwide. Anyone can invest in Journey for a limited time.
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This column Disturbing trend for real estate investors: Homes sold at a loss, numbers not seen since 2016 – but this growing option is open to anyone It appeared at first Benzinga.com
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