Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

House flipping at its highest level since 2005

On the heels of announcements from the state real estate trade group that home prices seem to be leveling off right at what’s typically the peak of the season comes the latest numbers from default-tracking organization PropertyRadar, launched as ForeclosureRadar during the housing meltdown of the late 2000s, which find that a higher share of equity sales as opposed to “distressed’ sales continues to drive the market.

Distress sales, including foreclosures, short sales, and court-ordered sales, made up 26.4 percent of California’s total in July, still a historically high percentage but down drastically from about 50 percent a year ago and from 2008-2011, where the majority of all real estate transactions were a result of buyer default.

While rising prices have allowed many buyers to reverse their “underwater” position, 26 percent of the state’s 6.8 million homeowners, or about 1.8 million, still owe banks more than their homes are worth. Another 500,000, PropertyRadar says, have less than 10 percent equity in their homes, making it questionable whether they could sell and walk away even if they chose to do so.

The rising market has created ample opportunity for the return of “flipping,” or the purchase and resale of a home in six months or less for a profit. The volume of flip transactions was at its highest level last month since September 2005, another period of double-digit annual price appreciation.

“Rising prices and rising interest rates are a one-two combo punch that I’m surprised hasn’t resulted in more damage to the real estate market,” says PropertyRadar founder Sean O’Toole, echoing the sentiments of many in the real estate industry. O’Toole goes on to say that the combination of these two factors, which are pricing out many would-be home buyers “has left the market in a wounded and vulnerable position.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Angry Pete’s goes from pop-up to drive-thru

Detroit Pizza sidles into the husk of a shuttered Taco Bell

On the heels of announcements from the state real estate trade group that home prices seem to be leveling off right at what’s typically the peak of the season comes the latest numbers from default-tracking organization PropertyRadar, launched as ForeclosureRadar during the housing meltdown of the late 2000s, which find that a higher share of equity sales as opposed to “distressed’ sales continues to drive the market.

Distress sales, including foreclosures, short sales, and court-ordered sales, made up 26.4 percent of California’s total in July, still a historically high percentage but down drastically from about 50 percent a year ago and from 2008-2011, where the majority of all real estate transactions were a result of buyer default.

While rising prices have allowed many buyers to reverse their “underwater” position, 26 percent of the state’s 6.8 million homeowners, or about 1.8 million, still owe banks more than their homes are worth. Another 500,000, PropertyRadar says, have less than 10 percent equity in their homes, making it questionable whether they could sell and walk away even if they chose to do so.

The rising market has created ample opportunity for the return of “flipping,” or the purchase and resale of a home in six months or less for a profit. The volume of flip transactions was at its highest level last month since September 2005, another period of double-digit annual price appreciation.

“Rising prices and rising interest rates are a one-two combo punch that I’m surprised hasn’t resulted in more damage to the real estate market,” says PropertyRadar founder Sean O’Toole, echoing the sentiments of many in the real estate industry. O’Toole goes on to say that the combination of these two factors, which are pricing out many would-be home buyers “has left the market in a wounded and vulnerable position.”

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.