House flipping, a potent symbol of the real-estate market’s excess in the run-up to the financial crisis, is once again becoming hot, fueled by a combination of skyrocketing home prices, venture-backed startups and Wall Street cash, the Wall Street Journal reported today. After nearly being felled by real estate forays almost a decade ago, a number of banks are now arranging financing vehicles for house flippers, who aim to make a profit by buying and selling homes in a matter of months. The sector is small — participants say that roughly several hundred million dollars in financing deals have been made in recent months, but is expected to keep growing. In recent months, big banks, including Wells Fargo & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have started extending credit lines to companies that specialize in lending to home flippers. Earlier this month, JPMorgan agreed to lend an estimated $60 million to 5 Arch Funding, an Irvine, Calif., company that offers financing to flippers.
