When markets adjust or go through rough patches, complaints about house flippers immediately jump.
The primary argument is that house flippers drive prices up by buying affordable houses, making them unaffordable to most buyers, and selling them for unreasonable profits. While it's true that flippers do increase the prices of the homes they flip in Portland and across the country, these improvements are typically good for the neighborhood.
Often, flippers by the houses few others want, due to the poor condition and amount of work needed. They also frequently buy homes that aren't financeable, making them only available to cash buyers, which tend not to be the folks who want to buy a home, fix it and live in it....all with cash. There are, of course, flippers that do low-grade work and they are the ones that typically get the most attention. I support seeing them go out of business and making room for the ones who do good - or even great - work instead.
So yes, flippers have helped increase property values in Portland neighborhoods, but the homes they buy are typically eye sores. The work they do increases the look of the street scape and removes blight from the neighborhood (in many cases). One or two flipped houses across a neighborhood or two probably doesn't do enough to have a major impact on property taxes - one of the other complains about flipped homes. Here in the Portland, OR area, we have limits on property tax increases, such that our property taxes, while not low, are behind "market value".
Our taxes will continue to rise, regardless of flipped homes are not.
A lot of things go into prices rising quickly in a neighborhood, region, or even the country. Flipped homes can - and do - help increases prices in a neighborhood, sometimes directly and other times, indirectly (by inspiring others to improve their own homes and streetscapes).
Overall, they impact flipped homes have on most neighborhoods is positive.
What do you think?
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