He
noted
that
entrepreneurial

real
estate
investors
continue
to
expand
in
the
market,
taking
advantage
of
opportunities
in
both
declining
and
appreciating
areas.
He
expects
to
see
“opportunities
of
stabilization”
due
to

stable
interest
rates
and
“predictable”
taxes
and
tariffs.

“For
the
fix-and-flip
market
specifically,
we
see
it
as
a
year
of
stabilization
and
growth,”
Land
said.
“These
entrepreneurs
have
an
opportunity
in
markets
that
might
be
declining
to
buy
properties
that
are
at
a
very
reasonable
price,
and
in
markets
that
are
appreciating,
they
have
the
opportunity
to
sell
their
fix-and-flip
properties
at
margins
that
are
acceptable
to
them.”

According
to
the
most
recent
available
data
from

ATTOM,
flips
accounted
for

7.4%
of
all
home
sales
in
the
second
quarter
of
2025.
While
that
was
roughly
in
line
with
the
share
in
Q2
2024,
profit
margins
declined
significantly
to
25.1%,
the
lowest
figure
since
2008.

The
median
purchase
price
for
an
investor
rose
to
a
record
figure
of
$259,700,
but
the
median
resale
price
of
$325,000
was
flat
compared
to
a
year
earlier.
Gross
profits
for
these
projects
dropped
13.6%
year
over
year
to
$65,300
as
the
typical
investor
held
their
property
for
165
days
—
more
than
five
months
—
before
successfully
flipping
it.

The
advantage
of
experience

While
Land
is
optimistic
that
the
fix-and-flip
environment
is
welcoming
to
new
investors,
Erica
LaCentra,
chief
marketing
officer
at

RCN
Capital,
thinks
2026
will
be
the
year
of
the
old-timer.

“I
would
say
for
newbies
coming
into
the
fix-and-flip
space,
unless
they
have
a
really
good
handle
on
the
market
or
they
are
looking
very
closely
at
areas
of
the
country
where
there
are
still
strong
opportunities,
I
would
caution
first-time
investors
in
terms
of
how
they’re
looking
at
deals,”
LaCentra
said.

Land,
however,
thinks
that
all
aspiring
flippers
can
get
a
piece
of
the
pie.

“I
think
there’s
always
an
opportunity
for
new
investors
and
new
LOs
to
enter
the
space.
But
I
do
think
it’s
important
for
them
to
focus
on
gaining
a
local
expertise
or
a
product
expertise,
so
that
they
kind
of
become
an
expert
in
one
particular
part
of
the
industry
rather
than
trying
to
do
everything
in
every
state
at
one
time,”
he
said.

LaCentra
said
that
while
investors
working
with
RCN
have
been
resilient,
profit
margins
for
flips
were
hitting
possibly
the
lowest
levels
that
the
company
has
seen
in
a
“significant”
amount
of
time.

As
a
result,
rising
material
costs,
labor
shortages
and

slower
home-price
appreciation
led
many
fix-and-flip
investors
to
diversify
their
strategies
and
incorporate
long-term
rental
property
investments
to
hedge
their
risk.

But
this
isn’t
news
to
RCN.

“We
at
RCN
do
our
own
kind
of
survey
and

take
a
look
at
the
sentiment
of
both
fix-and-flip
investors
and

rental
investors
in
the
space
on
a
quarterly
basis,”
LaCentra
said.

“One
of
the
things
that
we
saw
that
was
pretty
interesting
was
that
a
lot
of
fix-and-flip
investors
within
the
past
year
have
changed
their
strategy
for
real
estate
investment.
And
by
that,
I
mean
they
have
switched
entirely
to
have
more
of
a
rental
investment
model.
That
being
said,
I
don’t
think
they’re
necessarily
discouraged.
I
think
there’s
still
quite
a
bit
of
optimism.”

John
Beacham,
the
founder
CEO
and
founder
of

Toorak
Capital
Partners
is
also
optimistic.

“I
think
2026
will
be
a
year
of
higher
activity
for
flippers.
There’s
kind
of
this,
I
would
say,
inventory
of
transactions
that
would
have
happened
if
rates
had
been
at
a
different
level.
It’s
like
a
pent-up
wave
of
activity
that
is
going
to
get
unleashed
at
some
point,”
he
said.

But
that’s
not
to
say
Beacham
hasn’t
heard
concerns
from
flippers.

“I
think
there’s
a
lot
of
concern
around
the
tariffs
and
also
the
availability
of
labor.
ICE
officials
are
going
over
to

HomeDepot
lots
and

arresting
people
…
so
we’ve
heard
anecdotally
that
in
some
cases,
it’s
harder
to
find
labor
and
that’s
resulted
in
higher
labor
costs.”

Beacham
thinks
that
the
impact
of
higher
costs
for
materials
isn’t
as
big
of
a
deal.

“There
was
a
lot
of
concern
back
in
April
about
the
tariffs
and
it
hasn’t
manifested
itself
in
such
a
big
way,”
he
said.
“We’re
not
seeing
lenders
or
deals
that
were
in
process
before
and
after

Liberation
Day
get
significant
amounts
of
stress
or
real
problems
for
our
borrowers.”

Opportunity
awaits
in
key
markets

Each
expert
identified
key
areas
that
could
see
continued
growth
throughout
2026.
Land
expects
continued
strength
in
the

Colorado,
Arizona
and
California
markets.

“We’ve
seen
[those
markets]
be
strong
for
us
throughout
2025,”
he
said.
“We’ve
also
seen
some
of
the
coastal
markets,
or
the
COVID-19
markets
that
experienced
a
lot
of
growth
…
softened
or
stabilized.”

Land
expects
investors
and
flippers
will
find
success
by
using
“tech-enabled
strategies”
in
their
approaches.

“Over
the
past
few
years,
you’ve
seen
things
like
AI
and
machine
learning
being
involved
in

underwriting
and
some
of
the
credit
and
lending
functions,”
he
said.
“I
think
you’re
starting
to
see
that
more
on
the
small
investor
side,
too,
where
these
tools
are
becoming
more
and
more
available,
and
are
being
used
more
to
help
identify
opportunities
to
help
make
the
construction
or
the
rehabilitation
of
a
project
more
efficient.”

LaCentra
said
that
several
hot
markets
for
Connecticut-based
RCN
lie
within
Georgia
—
specifically

Atlanta,
Macon
and
Columbus.

“We’re
still
seeing
some
activity
in
Memphis,
Tennessee,
but
I
would
say
Georgia
still
continues
to
be
probably
one
of
the
hottest
states
from
a
fix-and-flip
perspective,”
she
said.
“We
definitely
anticipate
that
continuing
at
least
through
the
first,
probably
second
quarter,
of
2026
as
well.”

Beacham
expects
to
continue
seeing
success
in
places
like
the

Northeast.

“The
Northeast
held
up
really,
really
well.
The

Midwest
market
also
held
up
pretty
well.
…
I
don’t
think
you’re
going
to
see
radical
change
over
the
next
year.
I
think
volumes
will
increase
over
the
course
of
next
year,”
he
said.

“We’re
seeing

delinquencies
decrease.
And
it’s
a
really
positive
sign
that
people
are
able
to
sell
properties,
can
get
their
deals
done,
are
able
to
complete
their
construction,
and
that
bodes
well
for
next
year.”