People Are Calling Out House Flippers Over $1.2 Million Home

• Social media users are discussing a New York home that hit the market for $1.2 million in June. 
• People were shocked to discover the house originally sold for $260,000 in July 2020. 
• Home flipping took a hit in 2022 as the housing market sputtered. 

A New York home that originally sold for $260,000 was renovated and re-listed at $1.2 million, sparking a discussion about affordability as the housing market falters.

On Tuesday, a TikTok user uploaded a video showing a single-family residence in Beacon, New York, that initially sold for $260,000 in June 2020. At the time, the 83-year-old residence had two bedrooms and two bathrooms, the video said.

“This goes out to all the greedy, delusional house flippers and corporations in my area who are buying houses like this and doing too much,” the TikToker said in the video, inviting users to guess how much the home currently costs.

Over three years, the home appeared to undergo renovations before being listed on the market again in June 2023 — but this time for an astronomical price. The house is now a three-bedroom, three-bathroom home described as a “contemporary take on the classic 1940s cape cod commonly found in the Hudson Valley,” according to Zillow.

In comparison, the house right next door is a two-bedroom, one-bathroom residence that sold for $377,000 in December 2020. Redfin’s listing notes that the median listing price for homes in that particular zip code is $550,000, and the median sale price is $522,500. 

On TikTok, users shared their shock over the price jump, with many saying their initial estimate was way off. The video later made it to Twitter, where it went viral and accumulated even more opinions. 

“omfg at first I said $450k, then I saw the house after the flip and said $800k and I was very very wrong. We need serious home pricing regulations,” one person wrote.

Another added: “HGTV absolutely ruined people’s brains.” 

The viral video comes as Americans grapple with a stumbling housing market. Insider’s James Rodriguez reported that mortgage rates remain high, people aren’t selling their homes, and the homes that are on the market are steeped in competition. It’s a phenomenon he’s dubbed the housing Ice Age. 

The struggle reverberated across the industry, with house flippers in fall 2022 slashing property sale prices – meaning a potential loss in profits – or switching careers to become landlords. In June, Toorak Capital Partners told Insider that some house flippers are still seeing profits, but they’re pickier about which projects they pursue.