Beginning with a time-dependent definition of a house flip, the analysis examines flipping activity in Las Vegas from 1994 through mid-2007. We find that flip homes tend to be older and smaller than non-flip homes. Moreover, as the residential property market in Las Vegas begins to take off,...

This paper examines the anatomy of a real estate bubble. In the process, we identify three phases of the market’s evolution: in the first phase, a large percentage of transactions are speculative or “flips” causing prices to rapidly increase; in phase two, flipping loses its profitability;...

Until the recent introduction of real estate futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), there have been few opportunities to manage house price risk. This paper examines whether house price risk can be effectively hedged in Las Vegas, one of the CME contract cities. The analysis considers...