A Growing Trend of Boomer House Flippers
House flipping—buying, renovating, and quickly reselling homes—has surged back to levels not seen since the mid-2000s. In 2022, over 407,000 homes were flipped in the U.S., up 58% from 2020 and reaching the highest point since at least 20051. That equates to about one in every 12 home sales being a flip2.
While house flipping was once the domain of ambitious younger investors, many of today’s flippers are baby boomers. Industry data suggests a significant portion of flips are being carried out by older Americans who have the capital, experience, and motivation to renovate properties for profit.
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In 2022, 63.5% of flipped homes were purchased with cash (rather than financed)3 – a sign that well-heeled investors (often older, established homeowners or retirees) are a driving force in the flipping market.
“The landscape for home flipping…became increasingly challenging [in 2023]” due to slimmer profits, notes Rob Barber, CEO of data firm ATTOM3. Even so, baby boomers are seizing these opportunities like never before, helping fuel the resurgence of flipping despite the hurdles.
Financial Stability and the Lure of Profit
Many boomers today have something younger first-time flippers typically lack: decades of home equity and financial stability. Americans over 55 now own over half of U.S. owner-occupied homes (54%), up from 44% in 20084. This accumulated housing wealth gives them a ready source of capital to invest in flips, either by leveraging equity or tapping into savings.
Keith Lind, CEO of Acra Lending, observes that boomers’ housing decisions can create flipping opportunities: as “a lot of baby boomers…continue to downsize [their homes]…their homes will go on the market, and that creates more opportunity, including for fix and flip in areas where baby boomers want to live”2. In other words, when boomers sell longtime family homes (often dated properties in desirable locations), savvy investors—including other boomers—can step in to renovate and resell those houses at a profit.
For many boomers, flipping isn’t just about making money—it’s also a way to supplement retirement income or keep active in later years. Carla Royder, 60, who along with her husband has flipped numerous houses around San Antonio, Texas, says they view flipping as a profitable side venture.
“Flipping is something we do to make extra money,” Carla said5. With her background as an interior designer and her husband Foy’s construction skills, the Royders have been able to buy fixer-uppers, remodel them, and sell at a gain. The extra income has helped bolster their finances as they plan for retirement.
Their experience is increasingly common: rather than relying solely on pensions or 401(k)s, some boomers are actively investing in real estate projects to build nest eggs. And unlike younger flippers who may be stretching financially to fund a deal, boomers often can pay cash for a property. This cash-buying ability not only makes their offers more competitive, but also saves them interest costs and stress.
Nearly two-thirds of home flips in recent years have been cash purchases3, reflecting the prevalence of well-capitalized investors like boomers in the flipping business.
Passion Projects and the HGTV Effect
Beyond the balance sheet, there’s a passion element driving boomers into flipping. This generation has always had a strong DIY ethic—many spent years maintaining their own homes—and now they’re channeling that know-how into renovation projects for resale.
Television and pop culture have also played a role. The explosion of home-renovation shows on HGTV and elsewhere over the past two decades has made house flipping look accessible and exciting. Real estate experts even have a name for this phenomenon: the “HGTV effect.” It’s the idea that seeing ordinary people successfully transform ugly houses into dream homes on TV motivates viewers to try it themselves6.
Flipping houses has become [seen as] another lucrative pastime in many cities thanks in part to this effect6. Boomers—who grew up before HGTV but are now among its avid viewers—have not been immune to the inspiration.
“Watching real people achieve their dream homes on television 24 hours a day, seven days a week has made it seem more tangible,” Architectural Digest observed, noting how home makeover shows have elevated Americans’ expectations for their own homes7.
For some boomers, retirement provides the free time to finally tackle projects they’ve long dreamed about. Flipping offers a creative outlet: they can take a neglected house, apply their vision and skills, and watch it bloom. The process can be deeply rewarding.
“I’ve always loved that look…older parts of San Antonio have homes with a lot of character,” said Carla Royder, explaining how preserving classic touches like original brick in a remodel is part of the joy5. Many older flippers treat their projects as passion projects—a chance to flex creative muscles and stay active—rather than just a pure investment exercise.
Hotspots: Sun Belt Flipping and Boomer Migration
Geography is another factor in this trend. The states and metro areas seeing the most house flipping activity often overlap with places popular among retiring boomers. Sun Belt markets in the Southeast and Southwest have been hotspots for both migration and flipping.
“They [boomers] want to probably be in the Southeast or Southwest,” notes Lind, pointing to states like Florida, Arizona, Texas, and North Carolina as magnets for older movers and thus prime targets for flippers2. When boomers relocate to these regions or downsize within them, it creates churn in the housing market that flippers can exploit.
In fact, several Sun Belt cities recently saw double-digit flipping rates. Phoenix, Arizona was one of the nation’s flip capitals – in 2022, 16.3% of all home sales in Phoenix were flips3. That means roughly one in six homes sold there had been renovated and sold by an investor in a short span.
Other boomers-favorite areas like Charlotte, NC (about 14% of sales were flips) and Las Vegas, NV (around 12%) also topped the charts for flipping activity3. These high-flip markets tend to be places with strong housing demand (often fueled by incoming retirees and job-seekers alike) and plenty of older homes that need updating.
Boomers themselves are not only the targets of flips in those markets, but increasingly the authors of them. A retiree from the Northeast might move to Florida and, seeing the booming real estate scene, decide to start flipping local houses as a business. Or a long-time Arizona homeowner might buy a second property to renovate and sell, taking advantage of knowledge of the local market.
With home prices having risen dramatically in many Sun Belt cities, the potential profits can be enticing. “There’s going to be a lot more distressed inventory…because of [aging homes],” says Kurt Carlton, president of New Western, noting that millions of U.S. houses built in the 1980s–2000s now need major updates2. This “Great Renovation” wave is opening the door for investors to step in2.
Boomers, who often prefer warm climates and have an eye for value, are capitalizing on these conditions by flipping houses in their adopted communities.
Challenges and Risks for Older Flippers
Flipping homes may look fun on TV, but it comes with significant risks and challenges – even for experienced baby boomers. One major hurdle in recent years has been the shrinking profit margins. According to ATTOM Data, the typical gross return on investment for a flip in 2022 was just 26.9%2 (before accounting for any rehab costs or expenses). That was a multi-year low.
In 2023, average flip ROI dropped further to 27.5%, the weakest level since 20073. By the time flippers pay for materials, contractors, property taxes, insurance and financing, that modest margin can evaporate.
ATTOM estimates that holding and renovation costs usually consume 20% to 33% of the resale price of a flip2. In other words, a 25-30% gross margin can be entirely wiped out by the project’s expenses.2
Boomer flippers often have an advantage of cash funding (avoiding high interest loans), but they are not immune to market swings. A sudden downturn in home prices can turn a promising flip into a money-loser. This is exactly what happened to some during the 2008 housing crash.
Nancy Wolf, 68, of California learned this the hard way. She rode the real estate boom and assumed it would continue into her 80s, but the crash upended her plans. “I was just playing being a rich person, I wasn’t rich…What you’re supposed to do with your money is sock it away. I didn’t,” Wolf admits in retrospect8. She ended up filing for bankruptcy in 2015 and taking on odd jobs to stay afloat.
“Instead of making money flipping houses, she cleaned them,” the Wall Street Journal noted about Wolf’s situation8. Her cautionary tale underscores that flipping carries real financial peril if one overextends or mistimes the market.
Even on a day-to-day level, older flippers face practical challenges. Renovating homes is hard work – it can mean managing contractors, climbing ladders, dealing with surprises like mold or old wiring, and juggling multiple timelines. The intense competition for fixer-uppers is another issue.
With inventory still tight in many areas and home prices high, finding a profitable flip can be like searching for a needle in a haystack. “A huge supply crunch” in housing is limiting opportunities, Lind explains, as most existing owners have low mortgage rates and are reluctant to sell2. This means boomer flippers must be diligent and patient to find the right deal at the right price.
They also need to stay up-to-date on design trends and buyer preferences (from open-concept layouts to energy-efficient features) – today’s buyers can be picky, and an out-of-touch renovation might not fetch top dollar. Carla Royder discovered this when one of her flips struggled to attract buyers due to a small, outdated master suite5. She and her husband had to pivot their strategy when the initial remodel didn’t yield a sale.
The lessons for boomers entering the flipping game: do your homework, budget conservatively, and have a backup plan. Many successful flippers set aside extra contingency funds for when renovations run over budget or take longer than expected. Others decide to “flip to yourself” if selling becomes difficult – essentially turning a flip property into a long-term rental or even a personal residence.
The Royders, for example, ultimately chose to keep one flipped house as their own home when they fell in love with it5. By staying flexible and not over-leveraged, baby boomers can mitigate the risks that come with this venture.
Success Stories: Reinvention in the Golden Years
Challenges aside, plenty of boomers are finding great success and personal fulfillment flipping houses. Their stories illustrate that it’s never too late to reinvent yourself in real estate.
Take Carla and Foy Royder in San Antonio. Carla, 60, had a passion for design, and Foy, 61, had a construction background. They started flipping houses as a hobby and side business years ago. Over time, they flipped “so many others” that friends and family knew who to call for a home makeover5.
In one case, Carla’s own sister sold them a worn-down 1960s house that had been in the family. They poured about $30,000 into initial renovations and listed it for sale5. When the first round of upgrades wasn’t enough to attract buyers (because the master suite was still small), the Royders didn’t give up. Instead, they re-imagined the project: what if this could be our dream home?
After hosting a Christmas gathering in the house, Carla says, “I woke up and realized we needed to live here. The house has really good energy…I decided that this is where we’ll eventually retire.”5
The couple embarked on a second, far more extensive renovation – investing $250,000 to add a second story, enlarge rooms, and blend modern comforts with the home’s original character5. The result is a stunning forever home that they created with their own hands.
In the process, the Royders demonstrated the core of flipping: vision and adaptability. What began as a flip for profit turned into a personal passion project and a customized retirement residence. And importantly, their many previous flips gave them the experience (and extra funds) to make it possible.
Another boomer making waves in the flip world is Glenn Phillips of Houston, Texas. After retiring from his corporate career at 56, Glenn found himself doing volunteer construction projects for his church and community – basically renovating spaces for free9.
Realizing he had the skills and enjoying the work, Glenn thought, why not flip houses as a second-act career? He dove into real estate investing and hasn’t looked back. According to an interview he gave on the Houses Flipping People show, Glenn quickly leveraged his retirement savings and construction know-how to start acquiring fixer-uppers.
In a few short years, this late-blooming investor flipped over 30 houses post-retirement, all while many of his peers were slowing down. His strategy emphasizes careful deal analysis and doing quality rehabs that attract buyers.
By focusing on solid middle-class neighborhoods in his area, Glenn is able to resell homes quickly for a profit while improving the community. His success shows that boomers can bring a steady hand to what can be a volatile business.
As a retiree, Glenn treats flipping like a job but on his own terms – picking the projects he likes and setting a comfortable pace. His advice to fellow boomers: treat flipping as a business, keep learning, and don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. Stories like Glenn’s highlight how flipping can be both profitable and personally empowering in one’s later years.
A New Generation of Flippers – With Old Hands
From coastal retirees renovating bungalows for fun, to late-career professionals investing in rental flips, baby boomers are undeniably leaving their mark on the house flipping landscape. They bring to the table experience, capital, and often a personal touch that can turn a dilapidated property into a buyer’s dream home.
The data backs it up: flipping activity is strong, and older Americans are a big part of that engine1. Of course, it’s not without pitfalls – markets can swing and projects can go awry. But the investigative facts and real-life stories show an inspiring picture: age is no barrier when it comes to real estate entrepreneurship.
Many boomers see flipping not just as an investment, but as a way to stay engaged. “We did it to bring in more light and to make the home feel more comfortable,” Carla Royder says of her renovation ethos5. That pride in workmanship and desire to improve homes is a common thread among boomer flippers. They’re in it for the challenge and the change. And in an era when housing inventory is tight, their efforts are also supplying much-needed updated homes to the market.
The bottom line: more baby boomers are flipping houses than ever before because they can, and because they want to. With real estate know-how earned over decades, financial freedom to take calculated risks, and inspiration from both personal passion and a media-fueled renovation craze, boomers are redefining what retirement can look like.
It can look like rolling up your sleeves on a dusty job site at age 65, or closing a deal that nets a six-figure profit at 70. It’s never too late to flip the script on your career and try something new. As these boomers have shown, the only “downside” they’re focused on is downsizing into a great flip – and maybe turning a tidy profit along the way.
References
- Home Flipping Remains Up In 2022 Across U.S. But Gross Profits Fall To Another Low
- Fix and Flip Market Struggles as Financing Costs Rise – Acra Lending
- Home Flipping Plummets Across U.S. in 2023 as Profits Slump Again
- Baby Boomer-Dominant Housing Markets [2024] – Construction Coverage
- San Antonio couple find dream retirement home when they fall in love with their Hollywood Park house flip
- The dark side of Canada’s renovation boom – Macleans.ca
- The Unexpected Impact HGTV Has Had
- “With $15 Left in the Bank, a Baby Boomer Makes Peace With Less” — A cautionary tale – Bogleheads.org
- Retiree Flips 30+ Houses! – Houses Flipping People