A Decade After The Bubble Burst, House Flipping Is On The Rise

Amid saguaro cactuses and yucca plants, Lauren Rosin shows off a house that she's renovating in Phoenix's Central Corridor, a pricy neighborhood north of downtown.

"This was actually a courtyard and I blew it out," she says, pointing to what will now be an extra-large open kitchen with custom cabinets, quartz countertops and chandelier-style lighting. She'll also upgrade the swimming pool in the backyard.

But Rosin won't live in the four-bedroom, three-bath midcentury ranch once it's finished. She and her business partner Brad Pickett are house flippers: Pickett buys the homes, and Rosin leads a crew of contractors to rehab them. They flipped 27 homes last year.

These days, profits are tight, and they face stiff competition.

That's because a decade after the U.S. housing bubble burst, house flipping is on the rise again. Defined as reselling a house within