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

It’s known as house flipping, and as it turns out, Alberta, specifically Calgary, leads the country in this regard.

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

“But it turns out she didn’t want to. So now I’m giving it back,” Mitchell said.

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

She hopes to sell for about $550,000, making a profit of $70,000.

“So far, we’ve replaced the floors. We’re going to paint it, too,” Mitchell said.

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

Mitchell has changed over the past six years and says the market has never been hotter.

In fact, Calgary leads the country.

According to statistics from the Bank of Canadaapproximately 7.6% of homes purchased in the Calgary area were resold in the last 12 months – the highest of any major Canadian city.

Edmonton follows with five per cent, followed by Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto with just one per cent.

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

“In other cities, what’s happened is that housing prices have gotten so high, especially in metropolitan areas, that, financially, it’s become more difficult to change, especially because the markets there have become slower,” said Anne Alkok, Wahi broker. .

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

But experts say things are changing 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 to be turnkey.

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

Gremshi has been flipping houses for 20 years and says demand for renovations is skyrocketing.

He’s hoping to make a 20 per cent return on a Northwest home that’s been stripped down to the bare bones, but says in Calgary’s competitive market, nothing is guaranteed.

“There are risks. For flipping, you also have to pay attention to the budget. You could spend more,” said Gremshi.

And with hidden risks, experienced flippers caution 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 the walls, you start opening a can of worms that you have to fix,” Mitchell said.