VOLUME OF SALES The percentage of change for residential sales in Idaho and Montana show markets with more open space were a draw in 2020. However, populous states had an impres - sive year. While Florida ranked 29th in percentage change, it did post the highest volume of sales with an increase of more than 180,000 properties and over 500,000 total residen - tial sales. Texas followed with an impressive 104 percent increase in sales nearly reaching 500,000 sales. Califor - nia followed with an increase of 27 percent and reversed its negative trend from the previous year, showing an impressive rebound. (see fig. 2) TOP FLIPPER STATES So where were flippers busiest last year? Flip volumes closely followed overall sales trends in more populous states. Texas topped flipper volumes and doubled its flip volume in 2020. Florida and Georgia round out the top three with double-digit gains for the year. Out of the top 10 states with the most flip activity, only Arizona has had a steady and consistent flip volume over the past three years. (see fig. 3) What makes the 2020 rebound for these states even more interesting is that Main Street investors picked up the slack from Wall Street-backed iBuyers during the pandemic. iBuyers like Zillow, Opendoor, Redfin, Knock, and Offerpad, which buy homes directly from owners to resell rather than just listing them, operate in many of these states. When Covid first hit, most iBuyers stopped buying, or slowed significantly buying and their volume was down almost 50 percent for the year. Arizona, ground zero for iBuying activity, is a great example. Flipping activity, which includes iBuyers, was only down 0.5 percent for the year, despite a significant drop in iBuyer purchases. (see fig. 4) iBuyers gradually came back to the market over the summer and 2021 will likely see iBuyers returning to pre-pandemic levels. In addition, other proptech compa - nies and real estate brands are launching their own ver - sions of the all-cash, as-is offer. We expect local investors will continue to see increasing competition in 2021. Some are watching the current exuberance with a feeling of déjà vu. The unexpected gains and speed of the market feel similar to 2006. Melissa Shea, President of the Long Island Real Estate Investors Association shared, “One investor had a Long Island flip shown to 150 qualified buyers and sold for well over asking.”
FIG. 2
VOLUME OF SALES
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0
FL TX CA GA NC AZ OH IL
TN PA
2019
2020
Provided by PropertyRadar.
FIG. 3
TOP FL IP MARKETS BY VOLUME
40000 35000 30000 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0
120.0%
97.6%
100.0%
11.4%
80.0%
22.0% 18.1%
60.0%
-0.5%
21.7%
2.2%
39.2%
40.0%
38.5%
96.1%
20.0%
0.0%
-20.0%
TX FL
GA
CA
AZ NC TN OH CO MI
2018 2019 2020 2020 CHANGE %
Provided by PropertyRadar.
FIG. 4
iBUYERS PURCHASES
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
KNOCK OFFERPAD OPENDOOR REDFIN ZILLOW
Provided by PropertyRadar.
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