Tulsa is No. 51 and Oklahoma City is No. 24 in WalletHub’s “2019’s Best Places to Flip Houses.”
Tulsa’s “market potential rank” is No. 56. Tulsa’s “renovation and remodeling costs” ranking is No. 22. The “quality of life ranking” for Tulsa is No. 143.
Oklahoma City’s “market potential rank” is No. 47. Oklahoma City’s “renovation and remodeling costs” ranking is No. 18. The “quality of life ranking” for Oklahoma City is No. 90.
The report states that house flippers earned an average gross profit of $60,000 in the first quarter of 2019.
WalletHub compared more than 170 U.S. cities across 29 key factors, ranging from median purchase price to average full home remodeling costs to housing-market health index.
“If you’re among the millions of HGTV viewers who’ve seen an episode of Flip or Flop, you’ve probably thought about the thrill of gutting a house and turning a five- or six-figure profit,” the report states. “But the process isn’t as easy as the professionals on television make it look. Any experienced home flipper would caution you that transforming a fixer-upper into a profitable property is a difficult process.
“In other words, don’t get your hands dirty until you’ve learned a thing or two about real estate, construction and how much damage your project could do to your wallet. Breathing new life into a low-cost property won’t necessarily return your full investment…”
According to RealtyTrac, though, the current homeownership rate is 64.2 percent (down from a high of 69.20 percent in 2004). That may translate to fewer potential buyers off the bat, depending on the location of your property.
| Best Cities to Flip Houses | Worst Cities to Flip Houses |
| 1. Sioux Falls, SD | 163. Los Angeles, CA |
| 2. Missoula, MT | 164. New York, NY |
| 3. Rapid City, SD | 165. New Haven, CT |
| 4. Billings, MT | 166. Boston, MA |
| 5. Peoria, AZ | 167. Wilmington, DE |
| 6. Tampa, FL | 168. San Francisco, CA |
| 7. Fort Smith, AR | 169. Oakland, CA |
| 8. Greensboro, NC | 170. Newark, NJ |
| 9. Las Cruces, NM | 171. Yonkers, NY |
| 10. Boise, ID | 172. Bridgeport, CT |
Best vs. Worst
- Pittsburgh has the highest average gross return on investment, 144.16 percent, which is 8.5 times higher than in Austin, Texas, the city with the lowest at 16.96 percent.
- Montgomery, Alabama, has the lowest median purchase price, $50,000, which is 17.3 times lower than in San Jose, California, the city with the highest at $867,000.
- Memphis, Tennessee, has the highest share of home flips, 11.66 percent, which is 6.9 times higher than in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the city with the lowest at 1.70 percent.
- Charleston, South Carolina, has the most real-estate agents (per 100,000 residents), 282, which is 31.3 times more than in Modesto, California, the city with the fewest at 9.
- Little Rock, Arkansas, has the lowest average full home remodeling costs, $75,888, which is five times lower than in Atlanta, the city with the highest at $375,734.
- Mobile, Alabama, has the lowest average kitchen remodeling costs. Fort Smith, Arkansas, is No. 5 on that list. Fort Wayne, Indiana, is No. 1 in the category of lowest average bathroom remodeling costs while Wilmington, Delaware, and San Francisco, California has the highest bathroom remodeling costs.