Every property flipper wants to work in the highest profit markets.
Flipping might look like easy money to some.
But only flippers and developers understand the pressure that goes the job.
There’s nothing easy about borrowing hundreds of thousands of dollars and having to work to tight deadlines to ensure profit margins are not eaten up by a slew of holding fees.
So it only makes sense that you seek the biggest bang for your buck.
Hence, we’ve crunched the numbers for you.
We’ve included all single-family, multi-family and condos to reveal the highest profit markets for flippers in California.
For the purposes of the investigation, ‘flipping profit’ is defined as resale price minus purchase price and rehab costs.
Because detailed rehab costs are generally unavailable, we’ve used ‘gross profit’ (resale price minus purchase price) in its place.
Five-year historical perspective (2020-2024)
California’s flipping landscape has been shaped heavily by the pandemic-era boom and recent slowdown.
Flips surged nationally from 2020-22 (437,000 in 2022) before easing over the last two years.
Rising interest rates have been largely to blame.
By the end of 2024, flip numbers had fallen by 37 per cent to 275,000 or around 7.6 per cent of all sales.
Those trends were echoed across California.
The good news is that the dip in volume has seen gross average profit margins on the rise, climbing to $72,000 in 2024.
While California-specific data is scarcer, Bay Area cities lead the way.
San Mateo County flips averaged a tidy $350,000 gross profit in 2022 and San Jose $283,000 in 2024, a rise of 17 per cent in two years.
ROI trends followed a similar cycle but California flippers experienced a lower percentage return due to higher property values.
Flip turnaround times have lengthened, reaching 5-6 months in 2022-24, up from 3-4 months seen in 2018-20.
Recent 12-month trend
Flipping activity in California remains substantial but flat according to ATTOM.
It reported 5,753 flips in the first quarter of 2025, yielding a median gross profit of $124,000 (ROI around 20 per cent).
Homelight reported that as of late 2024, California’s average flip returned a gross profit of $95,000 (16 per cent ROI).
While these numbers are well shy of expensive coastal markets, they still exceed nationwide figures which returned average profits of $72,000 (29.6 per cent ROI) across 2024.
While California’s more expensive real estate tended to compress margins in percentage terms, the Golden State still boasted many of the highest profit markets in the country.
They included:
- Silicon Valley $283,000
- San Francisco-Oakland $218,000
- San Diego $175,000
Flip duration in California remained relatively steady at between 5-6 months.
AATOM found the average California flip in Q1 2025 was 164 days, down from 178 in mid-2023.
Sacramento was the exception where the average flip took only 92 days, in line with faster completion rates among other inland markets.
But longer flip times in pricey areas reflected the challenge of finding buyers in expensive markets with higher interest rates in play.
Let’s take a closer look in more detail at the highest profit markets for flippers in California.
San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley
The Bay Area is one of the highest profit markets for flippers.
San Mateo and Marin Counties, south and north of downtown San Francisco, were among the most profitable in the state.
They enjoyed median flip profits of $350,000 and $300,000 respectively in 2022.
But higher prices often drove ROI below 20 per cent.
San Francisco County flips had median gross profits of $218,000 in 2024 which represented a very solid 33 per cent rise from two years prior.
Flips in the Bay Area took on average 172 days to complete.
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (Silicon Valley)
ATTOM data shows Santa Clara County flips enjoyed a mean return of $283,000 in 2024, up from $252,000 in 2022.
Resale prices in Santa Clara often exceeded $1m which kept ROI hovering around a modest 20-25 per cent.
Silicon Valley flips typically sold in an average of 167 days (5.5 months) reflecting a reasonably fast turnover.
San Diego-Carlsbad
Solid profits were also realised in San Diego County which returned an average profit of $175,000 in 2024.
San Diego Metro’s flips were among the few in California which were primarily financed-flipped (59 per cent) reflecting the diverse nature of buyers.
Lower prices than Silicon Valley resulted in a higher ROI often in the mid 20 per cent range.
San Diego flips also tended to complete in as little as 150 days.
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
LA wins an honourable mention here with an average profit margin in Q3 2024 of $147,625.
The city’s higher prices can yield very attractive profit margins, even if the 18 per cent ROI rates as one of the lowest in California.
Average flips take around 160 days to complete.
Fund your flip the right way today
Profit margins and ROI are two very important metrics for flippers and developers.
But they which move at odds with each other rather than in concert.
A bigger profit margin is desirable but at what cost?
ROI is a better indicator of whether your investment is worth the risk.
But Equidy can help you mitigate that risk to make flipping opportunities in the highest profit markets worth your investment.
Equidy is both a private money lender and finance strategist for flippers – the company has an intimate and personal history with all aspects of property development in California and has done so for more than 40 years.
They work closely with their clients to ensure they maximize the return on their investments without putting themselves at unnecessary financial risk.
They do this because they know the business inside out and advise their clients every step of the way to help them avoid making bad decisions and eliminate costly delays.
Equidy is a hard money lender that will finance flippers and developers in as little as 48 hours.
They stand by their core belief that anything is possible and they are determined to prove it every single day.
Even in challenging economic times, they love to reward entrepreneurship and strive to help their clients realize their wealth creation dreams.
Contact Equidy today to book your free strategy call.
