Burnley has seen more homes flipped in 2020 than in any other local authority in England and Wales, according to Hamptons International. Around 8.2% of all homes sold in the town during 2020 so far had been bought within the preceding 12 months (i.e. flipped). It is the sixth year in a row that Burnley has topped the list in England and Wales. The last time Burnley failed to take top spot was in 2014 when it was pipped by the City of London and finished in second place.

Around 81% of the homes flipped in Burnley this year were bought for £40,000 or less, with buyers not liable to pay either general or investor stamp duty.  Surprisingly, 93% of these purchases were terraced houses, bought for an average price of £38,000. For all flipped homes in Burnley, the average difference between the purchase and sale price (i.e. gross profit) was £20,643, or 44%. Just over two-thirds (67%) of these homes subsequently sold for more than £40,000, with the new buyer liable to pay stamp duty.

Across England and Wales during 2020 the proportion of homes sold twice in a 12-month period has reached the highest level since 2008. So far this year, 2.5% of homes sold have been flipped, a figure which is likely to equate to around 23,000 transactions by the end of the year. This may prove to be the largest number of homes flipped since 2007.

Despite the pandemic, 2020’s figure is likely to surpass 2019 both in terms of the number of homes flipped and the profit made. In 2019, 2.4% of homes sold had been bought inside 12 months, or 20,857 properties. This year the average difference between the purchase price and the sale price is £40,995, the highest figure on record and up from £29,685 in 2019. This is equivalent to an average gross profit of 26%.