The housing market finally took a breath

(from National Mortgage News)

Home flipping is no longer the easy money play it once was. According to new data from Attom, profit margins on flipped homes fell to 23.1% in Q3, the lowest level since 2008.

Just a year ago, margins were closer to 30%, and during the post-2009 boom, flips regularly returned 40% to 60%.

The slowdown is showing up everywhere. Investors flipped 72,217 homes last quarter, down 9%from Q2 and nearly 5% year over year. Gross profits also shrank, with the median flip netting about $60,000, down from $73,600 a year ago. Attom’s CEO summed it up plainly, saying “the game has fundamentally changed.”

Location now matters more than ever. Investors in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio saw razor-thin returns between 4% and 6%, while places like Pittsburgh and Buffalo posted eye-popping margins north of 90%. Even more telling, investors flipping homes bought for $50,000 or less actually lost money, while the best returns came from mid-priced homes between $100,000 and $300,000.

The takeaway is simple. Flipping is no longer a volume game. It is a precision game. Cheap deals are not guaranteed wins, margins are tighter, and picking the right market matters more now than at any point in the last decade.

Read more here

Google Just Stepped Into the Home Search Wars

(from Housingwire.com)

Google is officially testing its way into real estate search and it’s already rattling the industry.

In select cities like Chicago, Denver, and Austin, Google is embedding MLS-powered home listings directly into mobile search results, letting users view property details, request tours, or contact a buyer’s agent without ever visiting a traditional housing portal.

The listings are powered through a paid partnership with ComeHome, a subsidiary of HouseCanary, which has MLS access as a licensed brokerage. Notably, Google makes it clear that these listings are “not supplied or sponsored by listing agents or brokers,” signaling that this product is geared more toward buyers than sellers.

This move has long been considered a “tail risk” for major portals and the market reacted quickly. Stocks for companies like Zillow and CoStar dropped following the news, though analysts note Zillow’s strong brand and direct traffic may help cushion the blow. CoStar’s Homes.com could feel more pressure since its model focuses heavily on listing-agent advertising. Redfin, now owned by Rocket, may also see some long-term traffic impact, though analysts believe Rocket still has plenty of room to monetize its audience.

The big question is whether Google sticks with it. The company has tested real estate tools before without committing long term. But if this experiment scales, it could quietly reshape how buyers find homes and who controls that first click.

Read more here