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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 70 August 2025 J O U R N A L "It's tricky to balance at times when the market looks like it could take a downturn," Barber said. "Investors don't want to buy a property when prices are high and then see them drop before they're ready to sell." Birmingham, AL (12.8%), Kansas City, MO (11.6%), and Salt Lake City (11.1%) were the metro regions with populations over one million that had the highest percentage of flips, outside Atlanta and Memphis, TN. Of those biggest metro areas, the smallest proportion of flips was in: 1. Honolulu (4.7%) 2. New Orleans (4.9%) 3. Seattle, WA (5.5%) 4. Pittsburgh (5.9%) 5. Portland, OR (6.1%) In Q1 2025, a property that was flipped sold for a median price of $325,000 nationwide, yielding a 25% return on investment and a gross profit of $65,000 above the median acqui- sition price of $250,000. In ATTOM's investigation, profit margins decreased quarterly in 45.7% (79) of the 173 metro regions and annually in 63% (109) of the markets. THE HOMES AMERICANS ARE BUYING ARE OLDER THAN EVER H ighlighting how a lack of new construction over the past 15 years has fast-tracked the aging of America's housing stock, the typical home bought in the United States. hit a record age of 36 years in 2024, according to a new report from Redfin. That's nine years older than the median age of homes purchased in 2012. Redfin analyzed MLS data, looking at the age of homes bought between 2012 and 2024. "Newer homes" were defined as being less than five years old, and "older homes" as being more than 30 years old. Data referred to all home types (i.e., single-family, condos, and townhouses) combined. The homes people are buying are getting older across all types, with condos aging the most, to a median of 38 years in 2024, from 26 years in 2012. There are two main reasons Ameri- cans are increasingly buying older homes: lack of new supply and affordability. There have been fewer homes built in the past two decades, in comparison to earlier decades. That's especially true on the East Coast and in the Rust Belt, where the me- dian age of sold homes can be more than 60 years. And, generally, older homes are cheaper than new homes: the typical 30-plus-year-old home sells for 15% less than the median price of all homes. "America's housing stock is getting older by the year, and it's not because buy- ers prefer vintage homes—it's because we haven't built enough new ones," Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari said. "Without more construction, buyers are forced to choose from a pool of aging properties that present a new set of finan- cial challenges, especially for those trying to save enough money to climb onto the property ladder. Older homes have aging systems, energy inefficiencies, and a steady stream of maintenance costs that can quickly add up after move-in." Less Than 10% of U.S. Homes Were Built in the 2010s The United States has been building fewer homes since the 2008 global finan- cial crisis. Only 9% of America's homes were built in the 2010s—the lowest share of any decade since the 1940s, when World War II put a halt to construction. The good news is that residential construction in the 2020s has picked up slightly, thanks in part to the pandem- ic-fueled building boom in many Sun Belt and Mountain West states. But it's not enough: at current speeds, the number of homes built is projected to be the second lowest in any decade since the 1940s. Price Gap Shrunk Considerably In 2012, the typical price buyers paid more for a newer home (less than five years old) than an older one (30-plus years old): 77.9% more, $243,730 versus $137,000, re- spectively. But in 2024, that gap had shrunk to just 31.6% ($425,000 vs. $323,000). While older homes have traditionally been more affordable than newer ones— due to factors such as depreciation, outdated features, and the potential need for repairs—they may require significant upgrades to meet current standards. That's unlike new construction, which typically includes modern designs, updat- ed systems, and energy-efficient materials.