Tampa neighborhood house-flipping hotspot

TAMPA — The housing market is improving nationally, making the practice of flipping houses a declining real estate investment strategy.

But don't tell that to house flippers in Tampa. A quarter of all single-family home sales in the city's Town 'N Country area during the last three months of 2014 qualified as flips, earning a spot nationally among the highest share of flips, according to a new report from RealtyTrac.

The 17 homes flipped in Tampa were up 35% from last year, creating an average gross profit of $55,400, or nearly 62% above the original purchase price. Statewide, the return of investment was 42%, just above the national average of 37%.