The problems with the local real estate market are well documented: Property values are plummeting, foreclosures are skyrocketing and many homeowners are upside down on their mortgages, meaning they owe more than the property is worth.
Yet in the midst of all this chaos, one group of people continues to mine gold from the local housing market. They are house flippers, who buy properties cheap and then resell them quickly for a tidy profit.
The housing bust, which saw property values drop by more than 40 percent during the past four years, is working to their advantage.
For investors like Amy Agricola, there is no shortage of houses to buy cheap.