Data from 25,119 fix-and-flip deals: margins at their lowest since 2020, 2 in 3 rehabs over budget, and rehab costs up 39%. Free charts and benchmarks.
FlipperForce analyzed 25,119 fix-and-flip deals from 8,092 investor accounts to see what flipping actually costs. The short version: margins are thinner than they have been since at least 2020. Deals analyzed in 2026 project a median margin of 12.7%, down from 15.9% in 2020, because rehab budgets per square foot have climbed 39% since 2020 while resale prices have barely moved since 2022. Selling costs went up after the NAR settlement, not down. And on projects where investors tracked every expense, 2 in 3 rehabs finished over budget, by an average of $37,466.
Top 5 Findings
Flip margins are at their lowest level since at least 2020. The median projected margin fell from 15.9% of ARV in 2020 to 12.7% in 2026. Why it matters: there is less room for a mistake on every deal.See profit and margins
2 in 3 rehabs go over budget. 64.9% of tracked rehabs finished over the repair estimate, and the average overrun ($37,466) equals 83% of a typical flip's projected profit. Why it matters: overruns, not purchase price, are now the biggest threat to a flip's profit.See budget overruns
Rehab budgets are growing twice as fast as resale prices. Since 2022, the median rehab budget rose 11.9% while the median ARV rose 5.7%. Why it matters: rising costs are no longer covered by rising prices.See the big picture
Selling a flip got more expensive after the NAR settlement. Average selling costs rose from 5.56% of ARV in early 2025 to 5.99% so far in the second half of 2026, driven by seller concessions and commissions that edged back up. Why it matters: the 8% to 10% rule of thumb is still too high, but 5% is now too low.See selling costs
Most flippers ignore the 70% rule. Only 27.8% of profitable flips meet it; the median deal lands at 75% of ARV. Why it matters: if you pay more than 70%, your rehab and holding estimates have to be right.See the 70% rule
The Big Picture: The Flipper's Squeeze
Margins on the deals investors analyze in FlipperForce have fallen in two steps. From 2020 to 2022, the median projected margin dropped the fastest, from 15.9% to 13.7% of ARV. Resale prices were rising quickly then, but competition for houses pushed purchase prices up even faster, and rehab costs climbed with inflation.
Since 2022, the pressure has changed shape. Resale prices stopped climbing: the median ARV has stayed between $350,000 and $370,000. Rehab budgets kept rising, and selling costs crept up as concessions became more common. Margins slid another full point, to 12.7% for deals analyzed so far in 2026, the lowest since at least 2020.
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Flippers are also doing bigger deals for about the same money. Since 2020, the median ARV in our data is up 48%, but the median projected profit is up only 11%. A typical flip now carries more risk for roughly the same paycheck, which is why budget overruns matter more than ever.
"Flippers aren't losing money on the buy anymore. They're losing it in the rehab. Two out of three projects in our data went over budget, and the average overrun eats most of a typical flip's profit. The deals still work, but the margin for error is thinner than it's been in years."
Dave Robertson, FlipperForce
Benchmarks at a Glance
The typical deal across all 25,119 deals analyzed from 2018 to 2026. Half of all deals fall inside the typical range, and the median is the middle deal. For how these numbers have moved year by year, including 2026 on its own, see the "over time" sections below.
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Metric
Median
Typical range (middle 50%)
Deals
Purchase price
$185,000
$104,900 to $328,000
25,119
After repair value (ARV)
$335,000
$225,000 to $540,000
25,119
Purchase price as % of ARV
56.3%
44.0% to 66.1%
25,119
Buying costs, % of purchase price
2.0%
1.1% to 3.1%
20,837
Buying costs, dollars
$3,642
$1,900 to $7,500
20,837
Rehab budget
$60,000
$39,451 to $96,000
25,119
Rehab budget per sq ft
$39
$25 to $60
17,715
Holding costs per month
$592
$378 to $1,000
18,563
Planned hold time
5 months
4 to 6 months
20,535
Selling costs, % of ARV
5.9%
4.0% to 7.0%
22,524
Selling costs, dollars
$18,500
$12,000 to $29,929
22,524
(Purchase + rehab) as % of ARV
75.3%
69.2% to 80.9%
25,086
Projected profit
$45,100
$27,572 to $75,800
25,119
Projected profit margin (% of ARV)
13.9%
8.8% to 20.6%
25,119
Source: FlipperForce analysis of 25,119 fix-and-flip deals from 8,092 investor accounts, 2018 to 2026. No account contributes more than 10 deals per half-year. Sample projects excluded.
How Much Profit Does the Average House Flip Make?
Across all deals since 2018, the typical flip projects $45,100, a 13.9% margin. Deals analyzed in 2026 project less: a 12.7% margin, the thinnest since at least 2020.
The median fix-and-flip deal projects $45,100 in profit and a 13.9% margin on ARV, based on all 25,119 deals analyzed from 2018 to 2026. Half of deals project between $27,572 and $75,800 in profit. The average is higher, $75,647, because a small number of high-value projects pull it up. For deals analyzed in 2026 alone, the median is $44,722 and 12.7% (see below).
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What this means for flippers
The typical deal leaves about $45,000 of projected profit. One average overrun ($37,466) would erase most of it, which is why the deals that work are the ones with accurate rehab numbers. Here's how to calculate profit on a flip.
How Have Profit Margins Changed Over Time?
The median projected margin fell from 15.9% of ARV in 2020 to 12.7% in 2026. Median profit in dollars peaked at $48,788 in 2023 and is $44,722 so far in 2026. Trend figures group deals by the year each one was analyzed in FlipperForce, with the same 10-deals-per-account limit. 2026 is year to date through early October.
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Bigger deals, same paycheck: since 2020, the median ARV is up 48% while the median projected profit is up only 11%. Rehab budgets now take up 18.5% of ARV, up from 16.7% in 2022. When costs keep climbing and ARVs don't, the margin is what gives.
Year analyzed
Median ARV
Median purchase price
Median margin (% of ARV)
Median projected profit
2020
$250,000
$135,000
15.9%
$40,450
2021
$300,000
$170,000
14.6%
$43,772
2022
$350,000
$195,000
13.7%
$46,825
2023
$350,000
$200,000
14.0%
$48,788
2024
$360,000
$206,250
12.8%
$44,543
2025
$350,000
$190,000
13.3%
$45,150
2026 (YTD)
$369,900
$205,000
12.7%
$44,722
Source: FlipperForce analysis of fix-and-flip deals by the year each deal was analyzed. 2026 is year to date through early October.
Do Real Flippers Follow the 70% Rule?
Fewer than 3 in 10 profitable flips meet it.
Mostly, no. Fewer than 3 in 10 profitable flips analyzed in FlipperForce (27.8%) meet the 70% rule, which says purchase price plus repairs should not exceed 70% of ARV. Across 25,086 deals, the median investor paid 75% of ARV for purchase plus rehab combined, with half of deals between 69.2% and 80.9%.
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This does not mean the rule is wrong. It means most investors are accepting thinner margins than the rule implies, which makes accurate rehab budgets and holding cost estimates more important, not less.
What this means for flippers
Paying 75% of ARV can still work, but only if the rest of your numbers are right. The higher you pay, the less room you have for overruns or a slow sale.
Across all deals, the median rehab budget is $60,000, or $39 per square foot. Deals analyzed in 2026 budget more: $67,112, or $42 per square foot, up 39% per square foot since 2020.
The median rehab budget is $60,000 per flip, based on all 25,119 deals analyzed from 2018 to 2026. The middle half of budgets fall between $39,451 and $96,000. Measured by size, the median rehab budget is $39 per square foot (17,715 deals with square footage), with a typical range of $25 to $60 per square foot.
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How Have Rehab Costs Changed Over Time?
The median rehab budget per square foot climbed from $30 in 2020 to $42 in 2026, a 39% increase. In total dollars, the median rehab budget went from $50,000 to $67,112. Trend figures group deals by the year each one was analyzed in FlipperForce, with the same 10-deals-per-account limit. 2026 is year to date through early October.
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Almost all of that increase happened in three years. Rehab budgets rose 36% per square foot from 2020 to 2023, then just 3% from 2023 to 2026. We believe this tracks the inflation that hit construction after 2020: materials, appliances, and skilled labor all got more expensive at the same time, and those prices have not come back down. Costs have leveled off at a higher floor, which means an investor still estimating rehabs from 2020 numbers is underbudgeting by close to 30%.
Year analyzed
Median rehab per sq ft
Median rehab budget
2020
$30
$50,000
2021
$34
$54,279
2022
$38
$60,000
2023
$41
$60,000
2024
$42
$65,000
2025
$42
$65,000
2026 (YTD)
$42
$67,112
Source: FlipperForce analysis of fix-and-flip deals by the year each deal was analyzed. 2026 is year to date through early October.
Rehab Cost per Square Foot by State
Where you flip changes your rehab budget more than almost anything else. The median rehab budget in Massachusetts is $79 per square foot, and in California it is $60. In Texas it is $30, and in Oklahoma $29. A Massachusetts flip budgets more than 2.5 times as much per square foot as a Texas flip. We believe higher labor rates, stricter permitting, and older housing stock are what push coastal markets to the top.
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How Often Do House Flips Go Over Budget?
2 in 3 rehabs finish over budget, and the average overrun equals 83% of a typical flip's profit.
Most of the time. To answer this, we isolated completed rehabs where the investor logged at least 10 rehab expenses against the original estimate: 2,050 projects from 577 investor accounts passed that bar. Of those, 64.9% finished over their original repair estimate. 45.0% went over by more than 10%, and 29.8% went over by 25% or more. When a project went over, the average overrun was $37,466.
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The typical project finished about 6% over its estimate. The bigger risk is in the tail: roughly 3 in 10 projects blow past the estimate by a quarter or more. When a project does go over, the average overrun ($37,466) eats up most of the median projected profit on a flip ($45,100).
Outcome vs. repair estimate
Share of completed rehabs
Finished over the estimate
64.9%
Over by more than 10%
45.0%
Over by 25% or more
29.8%
Under by 5% or more
24.7%
Median result vs. estimate
6.4% over
Average overrun when over budget
$37,466
Source: FlipperForce analysis of completed rehabs with fully tracked expenses (2,050 projects from 577 accounts meeting the criteria), comparing tracked spending to the project's repair estimate.
What this means for flippers
The fix isn't a bigger contingency on every line. It's a detailed scope of work before you buy and tracking spending against the budget every week, so you catch an overrun at 5%, not 25%.
The median investor budgets 5.9% of ARV to sell, well under the 8% to 10% many courses teach. The average has risen from 5.6% in early 2025 to 6.0% so far in the second half of 2026.
The median investor budgets 5.9% of the ARV in selling costs, based on 22,524 deals. The middle half of investors budget between 4.0% and 7.0%. That is lower than the 8% to 10% figure many house flipping courses still teach. Only 17% of deals budget 8% or more. In dollars, the median is $18,500.
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Selling costs include agent commissions, seller concessions, title and escrow on the sale side, and transfer taxes where the seller pays them.
What this means for flippers
If you're still underwriting 8% to 10% to sell, you're probably leaving offers on the table. If you're using 5%, you're probably short. For 2026, about 6% of ARV is a realistic starting point, with room for a concession.
Average selling costs held steady between 5.4% and 5.7% of ARV from 2022 through early 2025. Since mid-2025, they have risen every half-year: 5.84% in the second half of 2025, 5.92% in the first half of 2026, and 5.99% so far in the second half of 2026. Seller concessions are part of the reason. These are averages by half-year. They run slightly below the 5.9% all-years median because a minority of deals budget very low selling costs, which pulls the average down. Trend figures group deals by the year each one was analyzed in FlipperForce, with the same 10-deals-per-account limit. 2026 is year to date through early October.
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When investors itemize their selling costs, we can see which lines moved. Seller concessions became more common and larger. From 2022 through early 2025, between 31% and 40% of itemized deals included a concession for the buyer. In the second half of 2025 and the first half of 2026, about 43% did. The size of concessions grew too: from about 1.6% to 1.75% of ARV when used, to between 1.8% and 2.0% since mid-2025. The partial second half of 2026 is a smaller sample, and its concession share (38%) is closer to the older range, so we will watch whether that holds.
Half-year
Avg. selling costs (% of ARV)
Itemized deals with a seller concession
Avg. concession when used (% of ARV)
Avg. commission (% of ARV)
2022 H1
5.47%
36%
1.70%
4.39%
2022 H2
5.46%
38%
1.75%
4.37%
2023 H1
5.68%
40%
1.75%
4.53%
2023 H2
5.43%
31%
1.60%
4.22%
2024 H1
5.61%
35%
1.71%
4.36%
2024 H2
5.52%
37%
1.69%
4.18%
2025 H1
5.56%
40%
1.73%
4.05%
2025 H2
5.84%
43%
1.85%
4.36%
2026 H1
5.92%
43%
1.80%
4.43%
2026 H2*
5.99%
38%
1.96%
4.47%
Source: FlipperForce analysis of fix-and-flip deals by half-year analyzed. Concession and commission columns use deals where the investor itemized selling costs. 2026 H2 is July through early October.
We believe this reflects a slower market. With fewer buyers and more homes for sale, flippers are budgeting to cover part of the buyer's closing costs to get deals closed. Budgeted agent commissions also edged back up, from 4.05% of ARV in early 2025 to about 4.4% to 4.5% since. The NAR settlement changes that took effect in August 2024 were expected to push commissions down. So far, they have not lowered what investors budget to sell a flip.
"The NAR settlement was supposed to make selling cheaper. Our users are budgeting more to sell a flip today than they did before it, mostly because they're covering buyers' closing costs to get deals done."
Dave Robertson, FlipperForce
What Are Typical Closing Costs When Buying a Flip?
The median flipper budgets 2.0% of the purchase price, about $3,600. State averages range from 1.6% in Colorado to over 4% in Maryland and Pennsylvania, against a national average of 2.8%.
The median house flipper budgets 2.0% of the purchase price for buying costs, based on 20,837 fix-and-flip deals analyzed in FlipperForce. Half of all investors budget between 1.1% and 3.1%. In dollars, the median is $3,642, with a typical range of $1,900 to $7,500.
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Buying costs typically include title and escrow fees, recording fees, lender origination points, and inspections. They vary by state: investors in Colorado budget about 1.6% on average, while investors in Maryland and Pennsylvania budget over 4% (see the state table below).
What this means for flippers
Buying costs rarely make or break a flip, but they vary more by state than most investors expect. If you have no local quote yet, budget 2% to 3% of the purchase price, and 4% or more in Pennsylvania or Maryland. Here's how to calculate buying costs on your own deal.
How Long Does It Take to Flip a House?
The median flip takes 4.1 months from purchase to sale, and 38% run longer than planned.
The median completed flip took 4.1 months from purchase to sale, based on the 1,921 flips where the investor recorded both a purchase date and a sale date. Half took between 2.9 and 6.0 months. When planning, the median investor budgets 5 months of holding costs, and 38% of projects ran longer than the investor's plan.
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The median holding cost budget is $592 per month (typical range $378 to $1,000), covering loan interest, taxes, insurance, and utilities.
What this means for flippers
Budget at least five months of holding costs. More than a third of projects run past the plan, and every extra month comes straight out of profit. Here's how to calculate holding costs.
How Do Most Flippers Finance Their Deals?
7 in 10 flips use financing, and cash deals project about 5 points more margin on average (19.5% vs. 14.3%).
69.6% of fix-and-flip deals analyzed in FlipperForce use financing, such as hard money or private money loans. 25.0% are bought with cash, and 5.3% did not specify. Cash deals project an average margin of 19.5% of ARV, compared with 14.3% for financed deals, likely in part because financed deals carry interest and points.
Alabama, Michigan, and Illinois lead on projected margin; Colorado and California trail.
States with at least 300 qualifying deals from at least 100 investor accounts. Rehab cost per square foot is the median; other values are averages, which run higher than medians because a few large, high-profit deals pull them up. For comparison, the national averages are 2.8% buying costs, a 16.0% profit margin, and $75,647 in projected profit, with a national median rehab of $39 per square foot.
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State
Deals
Buying costs (% of price)
Median rehab per sq ft
Profit margin (% of ARV)
Avg. projected profit
Texas
2,918
2.65%
$30
15.3%
$65,289
California
2,605
2.05%
$60
12.3%
$133,790
Florida
2,513
2.93%
$38
15.4%
$72,753
Georgia
1,193
2.99%
$39
16.3%
$62,896
Ohio
1,189
3.22%
$34
18.2%
$40,024
Virginia
1,043
2.98%
$37
15.2%
$52,355
North Carolina
1,005
2.80%
$38
16.4%
$49,227
New Jersey
720
2.93%
$48
16.3%
$93,505
Pennsylvania
709
4.08%
$45
18.6%
$61,933
Maryland
703
4.12%
$46
17.6%
$69,606
Colorado
689
1.56%
$41
11.5%
$73,937
Tennessee
618
2.71%
$34
17.5%
$60,775
Illinois
573
3.28%
$39
19.8%
$61,437
Arizona
562
2.06%
$33
13.0%
$81,161
Missouri
541
2.79%
$32
17.8%
$43,802
Indiana
530
3.11%
$34
19.1%
$42,377
South Carolina
493
3.08%
$36
16.9%
$54,954
Michigan
478
2.77%
$36
20.1%
$57,229
Washington
465
2.12%
$40
14.2%
$90,313
New York
462
3.30%
$50
16.4%
$123,602
Alabama
453
3.13%
$31
20.5%
$57,088
Massachusetts
384
2.24%
$79
15.7%
$227,482
Oklahoma
304
3.14%
$29
18.2%
$41,010
Source: FlipperForce analysis of fix-and-flip deals underwritten on the platform, 2018 to 2026. States with fewer than 300 qualifying deals or 100 investor accounts are not shown.
What this means for flippers
The best-margin states aren't always the cheapest to rehab. Alabama, Michigan, and Illinois lead on projected margin, while Colorado and California trail, even though California deals project some of the largest dollar profits.
How This Data Differs From Public-Records Reports
Most house flipping statistics, including the widely cited reports from ATTOM, come from public property records. They measure what a flipped home sold for compared with what the investor paid. That's useful, but it leaves out everything in between: the rehab, the holding costs, the commissions and concessions, and the loan.
FlipperForce data comes from the other side of the deal. Investors use FlipperForce to underwrite and manage their flips, so we can see what they budgeted for every cost, and on completed projects, what they actually spent. Read the two together: public records show what flips sell for, and this report shows what they cost.
For Journalists and Creators
Use our data. All statistics and charts on this page are free to use in articles, videos, podcasts, and presentations with credit to FlipperForce and a link to this page. Creators are welcome to show the charts on screen. Each chart has an Embed button with ready-made code.
Most-quoted stats
Flips analyzed in 2026 project a median 12.7% margin, the lowest since at least 2020.
2 in 3 rehabs finish over budget, by an average of $37,466.
Since 2022, rehab budgets have grown twice as fast as resale prices.
Average selling costs rose after the NAR settlement, from about 5.5% of ARV to 6.0%.
Media contact: Dave Robertson, Founder, FlipperForce, (dave@flipperforce.com). Available for interviews on house flipping costs, rehab budgeting, and investor trends.
How to cite: FlipperForce, "House Flipping Statistics 2026," flipperforce.com/house-flipping-resources/house-flipping-statistics.
Methodology
Figures reflect what investors budgeted when they analyzed each deal. Budget overruns and hold times use tracked actuals from completed projects.
Source: Anonymized, aggregated project data from FlipperForce, a house flipping software platform used by real estate investors since 2018. No individual investor, property, or address is identified.
Sample selection: FlipperForce hosts more than 100,000 projects across flips, rentals, BRRRR deals, wholesales, and new construction. We did not use all of them. Each benchmark draws only on projects with complete, internally consistent data for that metric, which is why sample sizes differ by section. Leads with placeholder numbers, unfinished analyses, and projects without tracked expenses were excluded.
No single account dominates: Large teams can enter hundreds of deals with the same template. To keep any one account from skewing the results, each account contributes at most 10 deals per half-year to every benchmark on this page.
Underwriting benchmarks (25,119 deals from 8,092 investor accounts): Fix-and-flip projects created between 2018 and 2026 with an ARV between $50,000 and $15 million, a purchase price above $0, a rehab budget above $5,000, and a positive projected profit. Ratio metrics exclude obvious data-entry errors (for example, buying costs above 15% of price). These figures reflect what investors budgeted, not final closing statements.
Budget vs. actual (2,050 projects from 577 accounts): Completed or listed projects with 10 or more tracked rehab expenses. Tracked rehab spending was compared to the project's repair estimate. Purchase, closing, holding, financing, and selling expenses were excluded. Projects where tracked spend was under 50% or over 300% of the estimate were excluded as incomplete or mis-entered.
Hold time (1,921 projects from 989 accounts): Fix-and-flip projects with a recorded purchase date and sale date between 1 month and 3 years apart.
Trends: Deals are grouped by the year (or half-year) they were analyzed in FlipperForce, not the year they sold. 2026 is year to date through early October. Seller concessions and commissions come from deals where investors itemized their selling costs.
Statistics: Medians and middle-50% ranges unless labeled as averages. Benchmarks use all deals from 2018 to 2026. Trend figures use deals analyzed in each year, with 2026 year to date. State figures and half-year selling costs are averages.
Updated: October 2026. We plan to refresh these benchmarks annually.
FAQs
Are house flipping profits going down in 2026? Yes. The median projected margin on fix-and-flip deals analyzed in FlipperForce is 12.7% of ARV so far in 2026, the lowest since at least 2020, when it was 15.9%. Rehab budgets have grown about twice as fast as resale prices since 2022.
What percentage of the purchase price are closing costs on a flip? The median house flipper budgets 2.0% of the purchase price for buying costs, based on 20,837 deals analyzed in FlipperForce. Half of investors budget between 1.1% and 3.1%, or about $1,900 to $7,500 per deal.
What percentage of ARV should I budget for selling costs? The median investor budgets 5.9% of ARV for selling costs, with half budgeting between 4.0% and 7.0%, based on 22,524 deals analyzed in FlipperForce.
How much does a house flip rehab cost per square foot? The median rehab budget is $39 per square foot, based on 17,715 deals analyzed in FlipperForce. By state, medians range from $29 per square foot in Oklahoma and $30 in Texas to $60 in California and $79 in Massachusetts.
What is the average profit on a house flip? The median fix-and-flip deal projects $45,100 in profit and a 13.9% margin on ARV, based on 25,119 deals analyzed in FlipperForce from 2018 to 2026. Deals analyzed in 2026 project a median of $44,722 and 12.7%.
How often do house flips go over budget? Among completed rehabs with fully tracked expenses in FlipperForce (2,050 projects), 64.9% finished over the repair estimate and 29.8% went over by 25% or more. The average overrun on over-budget projects was $37,466.
How long does it take to flip a house? The median completed flip took 4.1 months from purchase to sale, based on 1,921 flips in FlipperForce. Half took between 2.9 and 6.0 months.
Have house flipping rehab costs gone up? Yes. The median rehab budget per square foot rose 39%, from $30 in 2020 to $42 in 2026, based on deals analyzed in FlipperForce. Most of the increase happened between 2020 and 2023.
Have selling costs gone down since the NAR settlement? No. Average selling costs that investors budget in FlipperForce held near 5.5% of ARV after the August 2024 NAR settlement changes, then rose to 5.99% so far in the second half of 2026. Seller concessions grew more common and larger in late 2025 and early 2026, and budgeted commissions edged back up.
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