long-term residents. During the real estate bubble of the 2000s, flipping and gentrification were both linked to the mass migration of people to California, where high real estate prices and ample jobs attracted wealth seekers. In response, many native Californians were forced to migrate to the less expensive areas of states such as Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Oregon and Washington. This migration of Californians caused further gentrification in the areas that they had moved to in large numbers. Areas such as Phoenix, Arizona, and Las Vegas Valley became much more expensive, although property prices dropped significantly after 2006. In 2020 the emphasis on house flipping shifted to the Midwest, where Greater Cleveland became one of the most lucrative places in the country to own rentals and flip homes. A typical project in the area, as in other areas in the Great Lakes region, pays back twice the cost of the purchased structure. Investors from California have been steered by advisors from the Sun Belt to northeastern Ohio. In 2019 the median flip home was bought for $60,000 and sold for $124,000. 100% margins were also endemic to Akron, Ohio; Pittsburgh; and South Bend, Indiana. Property values After a renovation, the house itself will be in better condition and last longer, and can be sold at a higher price, thus increasing its property tax assessed value, plus increased sales for goods and services related to property improvement and the related increase in sales taxes. Neighbors can also benefit by having more attractive homes in the neighborhood, thereby increasing the value of their own homes. Regulations In 2006, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development created regulations regarding predatory flipping within Federal Housing Administration (FHA) single-family mortgage insurance. The time requirement for owning a property was greater than 90 days between purchase and sale dates to qualify for FHA-insured mortgage financing. This requirement was greatly relaxed in January 2010, and the 90-day holding period was all but eliminated. Illegal activity Flipping can sometimes also be a criminal scheme. Illegal property flipping is a fraud whereby recently acquired property is resold for a considerable profit with an artificially inflated value, typically in order to defraud a lender into lending more than the true value of the property or defraud a buyer into paying a higher price than should be necessary. The property is quickly resold after making few, or only cosmetic, improvements. Illegal