Why quick-fix home renos can be so flippin’ profitable
Sunday, 15 February 2026
House flipping has been a side hustle for any number of big names over the years.
Actress Diane Keaton - who died in October - was, on the down-low, one of Los Angeles’ most prolific flippers, specialising in historic do-ups, while former talkshow host Ellen DeGeneres and her actor wife Portia de Rossi have reportedly turned a $190 million profit from house flipping since the mid 2000s.
Buy a house for nix, polish it up a bit, put it back on the market, and witness a bidding war … the dollar signs are flashing.
Considered by some as tantamount to ripping off your grandmother, buying and selling houses for sometimes mega profit dropped off the radar following the sharp market downturn.
It’s now having a renaissance, not so much among “amateur” hobbyists looking to make a quick buck, but by individuals applying professional and corporate skills to property.
It was a life-threatening health scare that eventually spurred Auckland builder Tyge Dellar and wife Christina to dive headlong into the flipping scene.
“The motivation was financial freedom and wanting to work for ourselves, but the real turning point came after I had a stroke. That experience completely shifted my perspective,” Dellar says.
“It made me realise how short life really is, and I didn’t want to keep trading time for money or building someone else’s dream. Property flipping gave us a way to take control, build something of our own, and create a future on our terms.”
The pair, aged 41 and 36, bought their first flip in 2019 - a three-bedroom house in Mount Roskill.
Structurally it was solid, so the focus was on “cosmetics” and adding value; a new kitchen and bathroom, new flooring, paint, lighting, decks, landscaping and fencing.
“I did the majority of the work myself and completed it in about five weeks, which was a big push,” Dellar says. “Financially, it was very successful - we made around $120,000 gross profit - and that result gave us the confidence to keep going and turn flipping into a real business.”
They are now on to their 15th flip.
Several real estate agents the Star-Times spoke to admit to “dabbling”, but are reluctant to go into detail, citing the likely wrath of “haters”. Most know - and work with - professional flippers, who have made it a career as opposed to those who “swing in and out” of the investment scene.
Others are not so enthusiastic, considering the practice to be capitalism at its worst, and house flippers little more than grasping profiteers taking cheap homes off first-home buyers, helping fuel gentrification and driving up prices. Mention of lipstick and pigs, referencing the superficial nature of many renos, is rife, while at least one critic really put the boot in, labelling flippers the “bogeymen” of the housing crisis.
Auckland’s Peter West begs to differ. The former Fonterra and EY project manager got into flipping six years ago, moving into it full-time two years ago. With teams of tradies in Whangarei and Dunedin, property coach West now spends most of his time helping others flip homes rather than doing it himself.
“There’s definitely a viewpoint that it increases competition for first home buyers because typically the house which makes a good flip is run down and tired.
“But sometimes the houses are actually too tired for first-time buyers. They're not going to have the extra $70,000 or $80,000 to renovate the house up to [liveable] standard, and to be honest you wouldn’t want to move into a lot of these houses.”
In many cases, once renovated, the homes are ideal for first-time buyers.
“So that's where the property flippers actually do a service to the wider good of society, by taking these really run down houses and bringing them up to a nicer specification.”
West’s typical buyers “dare I say it” are “mum‑and‑dad” home owners with kids, some equity in their existing home, and a desire to grow their wealth, either by flipping or investing in another property.
The Dellars, like West, understand the concerns, but say they don’t generally reflect the reality.
“What we do is take houses that are tired, cold, or even borderline unlivable and turn them back into quality, healthy homes for families. That improves neighbourhoods and raises the overall standard of housing stock.
“We’re not creating the housing shortage, and we’re not pulling good first homes off the market – we’re adding value to homes that would otherwise stay in poor condition. So from our perspective, responsible flipping improves communities rather than harming them.”
Former Olympic cyclist Hayden Roulston, now a real estate agent, sells flips to eager buyers in Christchurch.
And there’s plenty of them, helped, he says by large numbers of “as is-where-is” properties damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes.
“Our market is good. There are always flippers out there looking for their next project.”
As with any investment opportunity the key to a successful flip is to analyse the market - what properties are selling for, who is buying what at the time‒and do the numbers, “be across them and stick to them”, Roulston says.
“Picking the right property, obtaining realistic appraisals, understanding renovation costs, calculating potential resale values, securing optimal financing options and maintaining a strict budget during renovations are crucial for ensuring financial success in house flipping ventures.”
West and Dellar also caution against jumping in without doing your homework. While social media and television programmes such as The Block have introduced more DIYers to do-ups, even the old hands can get it wrong.
Says West: “It’s very difficult to flip when you buy a property, and six months later, house prices have fallen. And some of the high end ones are a bit dangerous, because you buy something in a bougie area, and the buyers want something quite different to what you’ve put in.”
Dellar points out competition has heated up considerably since their first purchase.
“Overall, it’s gone from being a relatively forgiving market to one where you have to be far more professional, disciplined, and precise with your numbers.”
Show me the money
At its core property flipping involves buying undervalued properties, doing them up and, hopefully, selling them at a higher price. A typical flip takes about six months from purchase to sale.
A practical budgeting rule is to allow anywhere between 10% and 20% of the purchase price for renovations, although some advisers suggest the necessary upgrades can be made for as little as 5%, depending on the state of the house.
The Dellars aim for around $100,000 to $150,000 gross profit on each flip, a range they say makes the time, risk, and effort worthwhile.
In reality though, not every project hits the ideal: “Across different market conditions and property types, it can sometimes look more like an average of $70,000 to $120,000 per flip.The important thing is making sure the potential margin justifies the risk before [buying].”
As a comparison West made a $135,000 net gain on a Dunedin home purchased for $470,000 which he spent $85,000 on renovating, and pocketed $121,000 from a project on a Timaru home bought for $400,000.
Cosmetic tweaks are bread and butter for house flippers, structural work - such as repiling - not so much.
Kitchens, bathrooms and an extra bedroom generally deliver the strongest return on spend. Savvy flippers will often refurbish - repainting cabinetry, changing handles, and upgrading bench tops - rather than fully replace.
Figures from realestate.co.nz show an additional bedroom can lift a property’s asking price by anywhere from $150,000 to more than $450,000, depending on size and layout, while the benefits of adding a bathroom as well can be upwards of half a million dollars.
In 2025, the average asking price of a 3-bed 2-bath home was $987,609. This increased by almost 40% to $1,376,229 for a 3-bed, 3-bath home, a difference of $388,620.
For a bigger home, the average asking price of a 4-bed, 2-bath home was $1,173,682 but increased 44% to $1,690,982 with a third bathroom.
“Certainly if you can add an internal bedroom without ruining the layout of the house then that helps, but there's no point cramming in a bedroom if it means you've got a tiny little lounge and you can't fit a couch in,” West says.
“Kitchens are where people spend a lot of time, so they need to look and feel nice as well. And then there’s simple things like a lick of paint can have a massive impact on the overall effect.”
Money, money, money
For would‑be house flippers, the biggest dangers sit with the money, rather than the makeover. Market knowledge and due diligence are crucial to mitigate the risks of house flipping.
Banks often don’t like lending for short‑term flips, so many people end up with second‑tier lenders charging higher interest rates (8%-10% as opposed to 4% or 5%) and extra fees. Those costs keep ticking up every week a project runs over time or a sale is slow, while any changes to interest rates during a renovation will also directly impact profit.
Flippers also have to pay GST and business tax on profits while buy-and-hold investors are subject to the bright line test.
IRD has an intention rule, which can catch would-be property traders out. It means that if you buy property (residential or commercial) with the purpose of reselling it, the profit is taxable. This applies regardless of how long you hold the property, even if selling was not the primary reason for purchase.
“Then there’s the agent’s fee, which people forget about,” West says. “All of those are common costs which are often missed by house flippers.”
Costs for upgrades can vary hugely. Ballpark figures for cosmetic work include new carpet ($10,000-$12,000), interior painting (around $9000-$15,000 depending on house size), a kitchen or bathroom refresh ($10,000-$15,000).
Once you move into structural work, however, the risks of losing money on the project rise exponentially. Foundation repairs, asbestos removal, and reconfiguring layouts can add eye-watering amounts.
Overspending is one of the biggest risks, according to Dellar.
“It’s very easy to underestimate costs or to get carried away trying to make a property perfect rather than sticking to a budget.
“There can also be unforeseen issues once you start work – things like rotten timber, hidden water damage, structural problems, or other surprises that don’t show up until walls are opened. Those can quickly add tens of thousands to a project.
And then there’s the market itself.
“We’ve experienced situations where the market shifted mid-project, which meant a property sat longer than expected,” Dellar says. “The longer a flip takes to sell, the more interest, insurance, and [other] costs eat into the margin.”
On the flip side (pun intended) there are, aside from the financial, other benefits to house flipping. All those spoken to say they like the flexibility it offers, and the personal satisfaction they get from turning often derelict properties into decent homes.
Says Dellar: “There’s also the freedom that comes with working for yourself – setting your own direction, building something as a family, and seeing the direct results of your effort. So it’s not just about money. It’s creativity, independence, and the satisfaction of transforming properties and neighbourhoods.”
Tips from Demo to Reno’s Tyge and Christina Dellar
Buy well and stick to your budget.
Profit in flipping is made when you buy, not when you sell. If you overpay at the start, it’s almost impossible to fix later.
Don’t let ego drive the project. It’s not about making the flashest house possible - it’s about making smart decisions and protecting your margins.
Be as hands-on as you can, keep costs under control, and remember that a successful flip is one that makes money at the end of the day, not just one that looks good on Instagram.