You probably watched it on reality TV. Someone buys a house, renovates it and resells it for a profit.

It’s called house flipping and it turns out that Alberta, and particularly Calgary, leads the country in this area.

Lara Mitchell has worked in real estate for nearly a decade and helped her sister find a house in August.

“But it turned out she didn’t want it. So now I’m returning it,” Mitchell said.

She purchased the duplex for about $430,000 and is investing $50,000 in renovations.

She hopes to sell her property for around $550,000, making a profit of $70,000.

“So far we’ve changed the floors. We’re going to paint them as well,” Mitchell said.

Lara Mitchell has worked in real estate for almost a decade. She’s been flipping houses for six years and says the market has never been hotter.

Mitchell looks back six years ago and says the market has never been hotter.

In fact, Calgary leads the country.

According to Bank of Canada statisticsAbout 7.6 per cent of homes purchased in the Calgary area were resold in the past 12 months – the highest rate of any major city in Canada.

Edmonton follows with 5 percent, followed by Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto with just 1 percent.

“Toronto has a benchmark price for detached homes under $1.2 million, Vancouver has $1.1 million and Calgary, as of September, was under $600,000. What people are doing is moving here, sell their house in Toronto and save half of what they sold it for and buy a bigger house here,” Mitchell said.

“In other cities, property prices have become so high, particularly in metropolitan areas, that financially it has become more difficult to turn around, partly because markets there have become slower.” , said Anne Alkok, Wahi broker. .

Lara Mitchell has worked in real estate for almost a decade. She’s been flipping houses for six years and says the market has never been hotter.

But experts say things are improving faster in Alberta, thanks to an influx of people moving to the province in search of more affordable housing.

And when they get here, they want it ready turnkey.

“(It’s) very busy, actually. We’re pretty full now – we’re getting houses for next year,” said NLG Renos contractor Neritan Gremshi.

Gremshi has been flipping houses for 20 years and says the demand for renovations is sky-high.

He hopes to make a 20 per cent profit on a northwest townhouse that was completely destroyed, but says in Calgary’s competitive market, nothing is guaranteed.

“There is a risk. For the turnaround you also have to pay attention to the budget. You might spend more,” Gremshi said.

And with hidden risks, experienced flippers advise anyone planning a project to seek out a professional first.

“Be careful what you buy. Lots of surprises behind the walls,” Gremshi said.

“When you start opening up walls, you start opening up a can of worms that you have to fix,” Mitchell said.