Home flipping down, but not in New Jersey

Home "flipping" — buying and selling a dwelling quickly after renovations for a profit — is slowing in most parts of the country. But flipping activity in New Jersey is still going strong.

"Flipping" is selling a home for the second time in 12 months, usually after renovations that enable a quick sale and enhance curb appeal.

Daren Blomquist of real estate activity scorekeeper Attom Data Solutions said home sales data for the second quarter of the year finds 64 percent of the homes flipped in New Jersey were bought in foreclosure — and that is the highest of any state.

In most of the United States during that time, home flipping returns dropped to nearly a four-year low. Outside of the Garden State, Blomquist said, "fewer distressed sales are limiting the ability of home flippers to find deep discounts, even while rising interest rates are shrinking the pool of potential buyers for flipped homes."

According to Blomquist, the main reason why flipping is alive and well in New Jersey is simple — it is very profitable.

"The home flippers are selling the properties for 73 percent more than they are buying them for." He adds that the higher number of distressed properties, mortgage foreclosures and the like, in New Jersey is still part of the lingering residual effect of the burst housing bubble and the great recession.

In Atlantic City, better than 7 in 10 homes purchased by distressed sale in the 2nd quarter were flipped. In Trenton, it was better than 6 in 10 homes.

Joe Cutter is the afternoon news anchor on New Jersey 101.5