Business
Property Play: Home flippers see smallest profits since the Great Recession, real estate data firm says
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A version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Property Play newsletter with Diana Olick. Property Play covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, from individuals to venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices, institutional investors and large public companies. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
Higher mortgage rates, high home prices and tight supply are all conspiring to squeeze investors in the home flipping play.
In all of 2025, roughly 297,000 single-family homes and condos were flipped nationwide, according to ATTOM, a real estate data provider, which defines a flip as a home purchased and sold in the same 12-month period. That was a decrease of 3.9% from 2024 and the lowest number of flips in any year since 2020. Investor flips accounted for 7.4% of all 2025 home sales, down from 7.6% in 2024.
Flips are falling because profits are making it less and less worth it.
With the backdrop of the highest median home prices on record, the typical home flip netted investors just $65,981 in gross profit, or a 25.5% return on investment, according to ATTOM. That is down from 32% the prior year and the lowest rate since the Great Recession in 2008.
“Competition for homes remains strong in many markets due to constrained supply,” Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM, said in a release. “With prices staying elevated, investors are finding it harder to secure deals that deliver strong returns.”
For comparison, in the boom decade following the financial crisis, profit margins were higher than 50%, peaking at 61% in 2012, which is around the time home prices bottomed.
Net profits, or investor returns that factor in the cost of fixing up the property, can vary widely depending on local labor, material and financing costs. Across the U.S., however, the cost of fixing properties before flipping remains elevated due to ongoing supply chain pressures and tariff-related increases in material prices, which continue to compress investor margins, according to ATTOM.
There are signs, however, that the flipping market could improve this year, as home prices are expected to moderate further and mortgage rates remain below year-ago levels.
“After nearly 4 years of declining flipped home transaction volume, our survey is picking up signs of positive momentum in the fix-and-flip space,” Alex Thomas, research manager at John Burns Research and Consulting, wrote in a recent report.
The firm partners with Kiavi on a Fix and Flip Housing Market Index, which looks at investor sentiment in the market. In the fourth quarter of 2025, it recorded the largest quarter-over-quarter gain in three years and a reversal of six consecutive quarters of declines.
In addition, 71% of investors surveyed said they expect to purchase more homes this year, compared with 66% last year and 49% in 2024, according to the JBRC/Kiavi survey. That is the highest share in its four-year history.
Fewer flippers are also reporting disappointing results from their investments. Nationally, 17% of flippers in the fourth quarter reported selling “mostly below” expected after-repair volume, or ARV, down from 21% in the prior quarter, per the survey.
“Because flippers tend to cut prices faster than typical home sellers during slowdowns (to avoid costly holding periods), this improvement is an early signal that the pricing environment is firming,” Thomas wrote.
He also said several provisions in last summer’s “big beautiful bill” could boost fix-and-flip profitability, including enhanced depreciation, a permanent 20% qualified business income deduction and deductible interest expenses on fix-and-flip loans.
Other measures of real estate flipper sentiment, including the RCN Capital Investor Sentiment Survey, a quarterly report prepared by CJ Patrick Company, also cite optimism.
“It’s those improving market conditions — more inventory, moderating home prices, and slightly better financing costs — coupled with pent-up demand from buyers and increased numbers of distressed properties for sale that I think should give flippers more opportunities as the year goes on,” said Rick Sharga, CEO of CJ Patrick.
The wild card will be mortgage rates. More investors are using financing, at 37.7% in 2025 compared with 36.9% in 2024, according to ATTOM. Rates were expected to be lower this year, but the Iran war and the resulting rise in oil prices have upended those forecasts.
“Flippers are having to get more creative to maintain profitability,” Barber said. “That could include taking on older homes, as the median flipped property in 2025 was built in 1978, the oldest since we began tracking, along with tighter cost control and more disciplined renovation strategies.”
Business
WTO reform push: India flags dysfunctional dispute system at MC14, seeks review of e-commerce duty moratorium – The Times of India
India on Thursday urged members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to restore a fully functional dispute settlement system, saying the current mechanism has deprived countries of effective redressal, PTI reported.Speaking on the opening day of the WTO’s 14th ministerial conference (MC14) in Yaounde, Cameroon, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal stressed the need to revive the automatic and binding nature of dispute resolution within the global trade body.“A dysfunctional Dispute Settlement System has deprived Members from effective redressal. We must restore the automatic and binding dispute settlement system,” he said.The WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism has faced prolonged disruption since 2009 after the US blocked appointments to the Appellate Body.Goyal also called for a reassessment of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, which WTO members have periodically extended since 1998. India has repeatedly raised concerns over the potential revenue implications of the arrangement.“In the absence of a common understanding among Members on the scope of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions and given its potentially significant implications, the continued extension of this moratorium warrants careful reconsideration,” he said.The four-day MC14 is scheduled to conclude on March 29.On broader WTO reforms, Goyal emphasised that any restructuring should be transparent, inclusive and member-driven, with development concerns at the centre. He underlined that core principles such as non-discrimination, consensus-based decision-making and equity must be upheld. The minister added that the principle of special and differential treatment (S&DT) should be made precise, effective and operational.On agriculture negotiations, he said a permanent solution on public stockholding for food security purposes, the special safeguard mechanism and cotton are long-pending mandated issues that member countries “must deliver on them on priority”.“India remains committed to negotiating a comprehensive Fisheries Subsidies Agreement that balances current and future fishing needs, protects the livelihoods of poor fishers, with appropriate and effective S&DT,” Goyal said.He also stated that incorporating plurilateral outcomes into the WTO framework should be based on consensus and should not undermine the rights of non-participants or impose additional obligations on them.“We will engage constructively to show that WTO remains central to global trade and strive to Reform it to remain responsive, Perform in delivering on development, equity, and inclusiveness, and Transform to better serve the interests of the poor, vulnerable, and marginalized people, anchored in consensus and multilateralism,” he said.Other WTO members also highlighted the need for reforms. According to a statement from US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the organisation has struggled to address systemic issues such as persistent trade imbalances, structural excess capacity, economic security and supply chain resilience.“As ministers, our focus should be on reforms that would make the WTO more responsive to Members and improve our ability to achieve outcomes that optimize our trading relationships,” Greer said, adding that countries should consider making the e-commerce duty moratorium permanent.Separately, a ministerial statement by the G-33 grouping of developing countries reiterated that public stockholding for food security remains a crucial policy tool for developing and least developed nations.“We urge all WTO Members to work together in reaching a permanent solution on this issue as per the Ministerial mandates,” the statement said.China also called for restoring a fully functioning dispute settlement mechanism at the earliest to strengthen the WTO’s role in global economic governance. The UK said it wanted to “improve accountability by reinstating a functioning dispute settlement system”.EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic warned that inaction could weaken the rules-based trading system. “Maintaining the status quo is not an option — we cannot go on as we are. If we do, we risk erosion of the rules-based system and the WTO sliding into irrelevance. Therefore, I strongly believe we must act urgently to reform the WTO,” he said
NEW DELHI: With the big Gulf carriers operating a fraction of their schedules, foreign airlines are expanding their India flights to meet the increased demand for options to the likes of Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad. SWISS will operate a second daily light between between Delhi and Zurich from April 1 to May 31, 2026. British Airways will have a third daily service from Delhi starting April 7, followed by a third daily service from Mumbai from May 15. Air India has been adding flights to the west whenever possible during the Iran war.In a statement Thursday, Lufthansa group carrier SWISS said it is increasing its flight offering between Switzerland and India. “From April 1 to May 31, 2026, in addition to its regular service from Zurich to Delhi, SWISS will operate a second daily connection using an Airbus A330. Numerous passengers of other airlines are currently unable to take their originally booked flights via the Gulf region. As a result, many are switching to direct connections to and from Asia. SWISS is seeing a corresponding rise in demand for such nonstop services. We are pleased to offer our customers this additional flight to Delhi over the next two months. The flights are available for booking with immediate effect,” SWISS said in a statement.“Depending on further developments in the Middle East, SWISS continuously assesses how aircraft and capacities that become available can be deployed where demand is particularly strong. In addition to demand, key factors include operational constraints such as available airport slots, traffic rights and fleet deployment capabilities,” SWISS statement added.British Airways also announced additional flights from Delhi and Mumbai “to meet strong travel demand”. “In response to the ongoing situation in the Middle East, the airline is adding short-term capacity from Delhi and Mumbai to meet customer demand. A third daily service from Delhi will launch on April 7, followed by a third daily service from Mumbai from May 15. With this additional capacity, British Airways will operate up to 63 weekly flights with more than 1,000 additional seats per week between India and the UK, offering more options for customers travelling to the UK or connecting onwards across the airline’s global network,” BA said in a statement.Neil Chernoff, British Airways’ chief planning and strategy officer, said: “As we continue to respond to the evolving situation in the Middle East, we’ve been able to reallocate additional capacity to meet strong demand to other destinations across our route network. India remains one of our most important global markets, and these additional services from Delhi and Mumbai respond to customer demand and provide greater choice and flexibility for our customers when travelling to the UK and beyond. We will continue to review our network and make adjustments based on where our customers want to fly this summer.”
Two major CEOs told CNBC in recent months that the rise of artificial intelligence contributed to their decisions to hand over the reins and step down from their positions.
It’s one of the latest insights into how America’s corporate leaders are sizing up the AI transition.
Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday that his decision to step down from his role was influenced by larger “waves of the organizational momentum.”
“My job is also to think who’s the best team to put on the field to get the next wave done,” Quincey said. “And I concluded that, actually, it was time to put someone else on the field for the next wave of growth.”
Quincey, who has served as CEO of the beverage giant since 2017, will be succeeded by current COO Henrique Braun, effective at the end of this month.
“In a pre-AI, a pre-gen-AI mode, we made a lot of progress. But now there’s a huge new shift coming along,” Quincey said.
While he said he’s leaning into the technological advances, he believes the beverage company needs “someone with the energy to pursue a completely new transformation of the enterprise.”
That person, Quincey said, is Braun, who he believes will uniquely equip the company to embrace its next chapter.
Quincey’s comments echo sentiments from former Walmart CEO Douglas McMillon in December ahead of his departure from that role.
McMillon, who had held the position as CEO of the global retailer since 2014, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” at the time that he had decided to hand over the role to someone “faster.” John Furner, who was previously head of Walmart U.S., took over the top job on Feb. 1.
“With what’s happening with AI, I could start this next big set of transformations with AI, but I couldn’t finish,” McMillon told CNBC.
“About a year ago, I really started feeling like this next run, you could see what agentic commerce was gonna look like, the vision for AI shopping, and I started thinking about everything that needs to happen over the next few years, and it really caused me to think that now was the right time [to step down],” he said.
Walmart in December made the move to list on the Nasdaq, something McMillon said was symbolic of the progress the company has made with technology.
The retailer has been incorporating AI to optimize its supply chain, provide assistants for customers and more.
“I think what you’re going to see from the Walmart team is they’re just going to keep scaling what we’ve already started, build some new stuff on top, and then use AI to transform it all,” he said.
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