When Mortgage Rates Rise Flipped Homes Fall Flat

Rhea-AI Summary

Realtor.com (NWS) analysis finds renovated "flipped" single-family homes still attract more online interest and sell faster, but their pricing power and returns have weakened as higher mortgage rates reshape demand. Nationally, flipped homes drew 6.5% more page views and spent about 10 fewer days on market in October 2025, yet sold at a median 8.3% discount from peak post-renovation list price for July 2025 sales (vs 2.9% for other older homes).

The report introduces a Flip Factor of 36.4 percentage points nationally, with the largest up‑market jumps in Pittsburgh (58.2pp) and several affordable metros.

Positive

• Flip Factor of 36.4 percentage points nationally
• Flipped homes received 6.5% more page views in October 2025
• Flipped homes spent about 10 fewer days on market in October 2025

Negative

• Median flipped home sold at an 8.3% discount from peak post-renovation list price
• Flip advantage narrowed from 25.0% more page views in 2021 to 6.5% in October 2025
• Typical flipped home listed at 87.8% of metro median after renovation (limits up‑market reach)

Key Figures

Fixer-upper discount 54.2% lower Fixer-uppers vs U.S. median single-family home price

Flipped home price $380,000 National median listing price for flipped homes

Other older home price $385,000 National median listing price for other older homes

Urban share flipped 40.4% Portion of flipped homes in urban ZIP codes

Urban share others 32.1% Portion of other older homes in urban ZIP codes

Discount from peak list 8.3% Median sale discount from highest post-renovation price (flipped, Jul 2025 listings)

Pre-renovation purchase level 51.4% of median Typical flipped home price vs metro median at purchase

Flip Factor (national) 36.4 pp Difference between pre- and post-renovation price as % of median

Market Reality Check

$26.39 Last Close

Volume Volume 998,295 vs 20-day average 840,012 (relative volume 1.19). normal

Technical Price $29.61, trading below 200-day MA of $31.76, about 16.78% under 52-week high.

Peers on Argus

Peers show mixed moves: NWSA +0.5%, FOXA +1.09%, WMG +1.35%, while ROKU -3.27%. No momentum scanner signals or same-day peer headlines were flagged, pointing to stock-specific trading rather than a broad sector move tied to this Realtor.com® housing analysis.

Historical Context

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Dec 16	Rent market report	Neutral	+0.7%	Realtor.com® reported November rent trends and affordability metrics.
Dec 15	Product launch	Neutral	-1.3%	WSJ Opinion launched the Free Expression newsletter-first brand extension.
Dec 10	Housing outlook	Neutral	+0.3%	Realtor.com® released its Top Housing Markets for <b>2026</b> outlook.
Dec 09	Lock-in analysis	Neutral	+0.4%	Realtor.com® detailed mortgage payment lock-in effects on homeowners.
Dec 08	Monthly housing data	Neutral	-0.9%	Realtor.com® published November housing metrics and delisting trends.

Pattern Detected

Recent Realtor.com® data releases and WSJ product news have coincided with relatively small single-day price moves, with no clear pattern of consistently positive or negative reactions.

Recent Company History

Over the last weeks, News Corp has issued several Realtor.com® housing and rent reports alongside a Wall Street Journal Opinion brand extension. Releases on rent affordability, lock-in effects, and monthly housing trends shared detailed metrics such as median list price of $415,000 and median rent of $1,693. Price reactions ranged from about -0.91% to +0.72%. Today’s Realtor.com® analysis of flipped homes and mortgage-rate impacts continues this stream of data-driven housing market insights rather than marking a distinct strategic shift.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement details how higher mortgage rates affect fix-and-flip economics, noting that flipped homes now sell at an 8.3% median discount from peak list prices and debuting a national Flip Factor of 36.4 percentage points. It complements recent Realtor.com® reports on affordability and lock-in effects. Investors may track how sustained rate levels, listing discounts, and engagement metrics—like page views and days on market—shape the long-term value of News Corp’s digital real estate data assets.

Key Terms

mortgage rates financial

""Higher mortgage rates change the math for buyers and sellers alike,""

Mortgage rates are the interest percentages lenders charge when people borrow money to buy a home or refinance an existing loan. They determine how much borrowers pay each month and over the life of the loan — like the added cost on top of a car’s sticker price — and influence housing demand, consumer spending, and bank profitability, so investors watch them as a bellwether for the broader economy and financial markets.

price per square foot financial

"carry a higher price per square foot, and are more likely"

Price per square foot is the amount paid for one square foot of space in a property, calculated by dividing the total price by the property's area. Investors use it like a unit price—similar to comparing the cost per slice when buying a pizza—to quickly compare value across buildings, neighborhoods or time, spot bargains or overpriced assets, and estimate potential rental or resale returns.

flip factor technical

"this report debuts a new metric, the "Flip Factor.""

A flip factor is a measure of how likely newly acquired shares or securities are to be quickly resold for a short-term profit. It matters to investors because high flip activity can increase near-term price volatility and dilute the expected holding power of strategic holders, much like lots of people trying to exit a crowded room at once can jostle the crowd and change the room’s dynamics.

median price financial

"how far renovations move homes up-market, this report debuts"

Median price is the middle value in an ordered list of transaction prices, so half of the trades were at prices above it and half were below. For investors it offers a clearer picture of a “typical” trade than an average when a few very high or low trades skew results — think of lining up sale prices and picking the one in the center to represent what most buyers actually paid.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

Although flipped homes continue to attract more online interest and sell faster than other older homes, new Realtor.com^® analysis finds  pricing power and returns have softened

AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Renovated homes are still attracting more online interest and selling faster than other older homes, but the long-standing fix-and-flip advantage has weakened significantly as higher mortgage rates reshape buyer demand and pricing power, according to a new report from Realtor.com^®. This analysis follows an earlier in-depth analysis of fixer-uppers on the market, which found fixer-uppers are priced 54.2% lower than the median single-family home in the U.S.

"Higher mortgage rates change the math for buyers and sellers alike," said Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com^®. "Renovated homes still catch buyers' eyes, but financing the cost of those improvements at today's rates is less appealing to today's price-sensitive shoppers. That's why we're seeing the performance gap between flipped homes and other older homes shrink compared with 2021."

Flipped Homes Look Typical, But Carry a Steeper Price Per Square Foot

Nationally, flipped homes look similar to other older homes in terms of bedroom and bathroom counts and overall price range, with median listing prices of about $380,000 for flipped homes compared with roughly $385,000 for other older homes. However, flipped homes tend to be smaller, carry a higher price per square foot, and are more likely to be located in urban areas—about 40.4% of flipped homes are in urban ZIP codes versus 32.1% of other older homes.

Despite these similarities, renovated homes still outperform on visibility and speed. In October 2025, flipped homes received about 6.5% more page views per listing on Realtor.com^® and spent roughly 10 fewer days on the market than comparable older homes. Yet this edge is far narrower than it was during the low-rate environment of 2021, when flipped homes drew 25.0% more page views per listing than other older homes and moved just as quickly as the rest of the market.

Flipped Homes Sales Performance Faces Headwinds

Even with strong online interest, flipped homes are facing headwinds when it comes to final sale prices. Among flipped homes listed in July 2025 that have since sold, the median property sold at an 8.3% discount from its highest post-renovation listing price. Comparable older homes sold at a much smaller 2.9% discount. This contrasts sharply with 2021, when flipped homes sold at a median discount of just 0.9% from peak list price, similar to the 0.4% discount seen for other older homes.

Fix-and-flip activity overwhelmingly takes place below the median listing price of each metro. The typical flipped home was purchased at just 51.4% of its metro's median single-family home price and, even after renovation, was listed at 87.8% of the median.

What is the "Flip Factor"?

To better capture how far renovations move homes up-market, this report debuts a new metric, the "Flip Factor." Nationally, the Flip Factor is 36.4 percentage points—the difference between the typical flipped home's price as a percentage of the median price before renovation and after it is listed.

Only eight U.S. metros saw the median flipped home listed above the local median price, underscoring how rare it is for renovations to push homes meaningfully beyond the middle of the market. The highest Flip Factors are concentrated in more affordable metros, where lower entry prices give flippers greater room to add value. Pittsburgh stands out, with flipped homes moving from well below the median to more than 6% above it, while Detroit is notable for combining a large supply of flippable homes with strong up-market movement after renovation.

Affordable Markets See Biggest 'Flip Factor' or Sought-After Price Jump Relative to the Market

Metro	Median Percent of Median Price Bought at	Median Percent of Median Price Listed at	Flip Factor
Pittsburgh, PA	48.1 %	106.3 %	58.2pp
Cleveland, OH	45.7 %	91.7 %	46.0pp
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY	48.4 %	94.0 %	45.5pp
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL	60.6 %	105.9 %	45.3pp
Birmingham, AL	35.8 %	80.7 %	44.9pp
Chattanooga, TN-GA	38.9 %	82.5 %	43.6pp
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	41.7 %	84.3 %	42.6pp
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	45.4 %	87.6 %	42.2pp
Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL	48.1 %	90.0 %	41.9pp
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL	41.8 %	83.6 %	41.9pp

Apart from Pittsburgh and Cape Coral, FL, which were in the top 10 for Flip Factor, the rest of the markets where flipped homes are listed above the market median are large and generally expensive Western markets. Only Seattle has a Flip Factor above the national average. Though the purchase prices are higher, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of the median, the West is home to a younger housing stock that ends higher up-market when renovated.

Markets Where Flipped Homes Are Listed for Above the Market Median Price

Metro	Median Percent of Median Price Bought at	Median Percent of Median Price  Listed at	Flip Factor
Pittsburgh, PA	48.1 %	106.3 %	58.2pp
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL	60.6 %	105.9 %	45.3pp
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	64.5 %	101.0 %	36.5pp
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	65.7 %	100.3 %	34.5pp
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	67.4 %	102.0 %	34.5pp
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	69.2 %	101.4 %	32.1pp
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	72.5 %	104.5 %	32.0pp
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	75.2 %	105.5 %	30.3pp

"We're in a market where renovation alone no longer guarantees pricing power," said Berner. "Flipped homes still draw attention and tend to move faster than other older homes, but sellers are increasingly having to recalibrate their expectations as higher mortgage rates constrain what buyers can afford."

Methodology

For listing characteristics and metro-level performance of renovated homes, homes are collected from Realtor.com listings active during October 2025. Only single family homes at least 20 years of age are considered, and to be tagged as a flip, these three things must also be true:

1. The home must have been purchased within the two years prior to it being currently listed, and
2. its current listing price must be at least 20% higher than its previous purchase price, and
3. the large language model must confirm from its listing description that it was indeed recently renovated.

For sales performance, the same criteria are applied to listings from July 2025 that had a publicly recorded sale by September 2025. Flip factor is calculated using the property and overall median listing prices for single family homes in the metro where the flipped home is located during the month of its pre-renovation sale and then again during the month of its post-renovation listing.

About Realtor.com^®
Realtor.com^® pioneered online real estate and has been at the forefront for over 25 years, connecting buyers, sellers, and renters with trusted insights, professional guidance and powerful tools to help them find their perfect home. Recognized as the No. 1 site trusted by real estate professionals, Realtor.com^® is a valued partner, delivering consumer connections and a robust suite of marketing tools to support business growth. Realtor.com^® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc.

Media contact: Mallory Micetich, press@realtor.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/when-mortgage-rates-rise-flipped-homes-fall-flat-302645256.html

SOURCE Realtor.com

FAQ

What is the Flip Factor in the Realtor.com report for NWS and how is it measured?

The national Flip Factor is 36.4 percentage points, measured as the difference between a flipped home's percent-of-median price before purchase and after its post-renovation listing.

How did flipped homes perform on Realtor.com in October 2025 compared with other older homes (NWS)?

In October 2025, flipped homes had about 6.5% more page views and spent roughly 10 fewer days on market than comparable older homes.

What sale-price outcome did flipped homes listed in July 2025 experience (NWS)?

Flipped homes listed in July 2025 that sold did so at a median 8.3% discount from their highest post-renovation listing price.

Which U.S. metros showed the largest Flip Factor in the Realtor.com analysis (NWS)?

Top metros by Flip Factor include Pittsburgh (58.2pp), Cleveland (46.0pp), and Buffalo (45.5pp), showing the biggest up‑market moves after renovation.

Does renovating guarantee a flipped home will list above the local median price (NWS)?

No; only eight metros had flipped homes listed above the local median, so renovations rarely push homes meaningfully beyond the middle of the market.