As the 14th most populous city in the US, Indiana has a lot to offer real estate investors. One primary attributes of the Indiana housing market is affordability. With a median home value that is approximately $90,000 less than the national average, Indiana is receptive to first time flippers looking for an area that is relatively safe and relatively affordable.
Now let’s dive deeper into how to flip houses in Indiana.
Indiana House Flipping Stats
Median Purchase Price
$111,721
Median Resale Price
$175,000
Average Revenue
$63,279
Price Per Square Foot
$108
Indiana Population Size
6,732,219
Median Household Income
$54,325
High School Graduation
88.6%
Travel Time To Work
23.6 Mins
Best Cities for Flipping Houses In Indiana
- Indianapolis
- Fort Wayne
- Evansville
- South Bend
- Carmel
Safest Areas In Indiana
- Carmel – Safety Score: 88.4
- Fishers – Safety Score: 87.31
- Westfield – Safety Score: 86.58
- Valparaiso – Safety Score: 85.45
- Portage- Safety Score: 83.16
Please note – All the statistics in this article are based on 2020 data. You can view the data sources at the bottom of the article.
The Basics Of Flipping Houses In Indiana
- Find a property in Indiana that is undervalued
- Source funding from a reputable hard money lender in Indiana
- Buy the property for a price that makes it possible to generate profit when it is resold
- Complete renovations that will increase the after repair value
- Find buyers for the property and sell it for a healthy profit margin
How To Find Houses To Flip In Indiana
1. Use FlipScout By New Silver
FlipScout is a free tool that helps you find most profitable real estate investments using data and intelligence. Find a property to flip or rent out anywhere in the country.
- Free to use
- Works for flips and rentals
- Get alerts to your inbox
- Calculates rehab costs automatically
- See ROI and rental income instantly
- Aggregate results from various sources
2. Leverage The Power of Wholesalers
Finding a good wholesaler can be very rewarding for a property flipper. Wholesalers tend to have access to all the most relevant property databases, and they often have unique personal networks. By using a wholesaler, you effectively gain inside access to their knowledge of properties in Indiana.
3. Attend Bank Auctions
Bank auctions often present opportunities to purchase properties below their market value. This is mainly because banks hold these auctions in order to sell the properties as fast as possible. If you attend bank auctions with a clearly defined strategy, you can potentially walk away with a new property that fits in perfectly with your investment portfolio.
4. Use Direct Mail To Find Off-Market Properties
Although it is considered an old school technique, direct mail can still yield positive results for house flippers. Direct mail has been shown to have a higher response rate than email, and numerous studies have shown that people actually enjoy checking their mailboxes. More importantly, you might be surprised by how many people have considered selling their homes. Your letter could be the trigger that they have been waiting for.
5. Sign Up To The Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
Even though MLS listings can be competitive, it is still a good avenue for finding properties to flip. The MLS is literally a database created by real estate agents, and it is filled with property details and statistics that can help aid your research process. There is a fee involved, but one deal is all you need to comfortably cover the costs.
6. Find Foreclosures
When properties fall into foreclosure, the primary goal of the loan originator is to recoup any potential losses. This is good news for house flippers, because properties in foreclosure often sell for less than their market value. If you are able to locate foreclosure opportunities in Indiana, there’s a good chance you will be able to purchase a property for less than its market value. This is why foreclosure can serve as a great platform for a potential flip.
Indiana Housing Market Analysis
House Flippers In Indiana Are Focusing On Good Areas: The median resale value of house flips ($175,000) is greater than the median home value in Indiana (158,690). This indicates that property investors are focusing on areas where the after repair value is likely to be quite high.
The average revenue per flip is $63,279. To achieve results like these, selecting the right property is key. Experienced flippers know how to transform the after repair value of a home, by focusing on renovations that are known to increase resale value. Perhaps more importantly, house flippers are clearly choosing good areas, knowing full well that the desirability of a suburb has a fundamental influence on the final sale price.
Home Values Have Appreciated By 8.5%:According to Zillow, home values in Indiana appreciated by 9.5% over the last year. Moreover, property prices have been steadily increasing since late 2012.
Despite taking a small dip when covid-19 first arrived in the US, the Indiana real estate market has responded well since then. Historically low interest rates have increased demand for homes, while the supply of houses hasn’t increased proportionally. This is a recipe for continued home appreciation, at least in the short term.
Homes In Indiana Are Affordable: The median home value in Indiana is approximately $170,955 whereas the median home value in the United States is $266,222. That’s about $90,000 less than most states in the US. This is good news for first time home buyers and first time flippers. It reduces the risk involved when flipping houses, and it reduces the capital needed for new homeowners to take their first step onto the property ladder.
Low Unemployment Rates: Generally speaking, low unemployment rates are one of the biggest green flags when looking to invest in an area. In the case of Indiana, unemployment rates dropped steadily for a full decade from 2010 to 2019.
Of course the Indiana labor market has been impacted by coronavirus, jumping from 3.0% in March to 17.5% in April 2020. Fortunately, the job market has responded well since then, dropping all the way back down to 4.3% in December 2020.
Apply For An Investment Property Loan
If you’re ready to start your house flipping journey, New Silver Lending can provide the capital you need to fund your first flip. We offer ultra fast hard money loans with competitive interest rates and quick closing times. The entire application can be completed in less than 10 minutes.
Next Steps
If you’re committed to flipping houses in Indiana, the next step is to invest time and energy into finding the best possible property. We have outlined a number of methods in this post, and all of them can potentially bear fruit.
Once you have identified a property, using a reputable Hard Money lender like New Silver can help accelerate the house flipping process. Our company is built on speed, efficiency and user-friendly technology. The online application can be completed in less than 10 minutes, and we offer instant proof of funds letters to all of our clients.
Property Flipping Resources
Hard Money Loan Calculator: Analyze the costs of your next flip in detail with our hard money calculator.
ARV Calculator: Workout the After Repair Value of the property that you are hoping to flip.