There is already a gigantic industry of people who buy houses, fix them up, and sell them. Doesn't seem very evil.
They were scalping housing.
"Scalping" makes zero sense in this context. Scalping exploits ticket mispricing and asymmetrical access to the market (waiting in line). Houses are bought at auction; you can't "scalp" at an auction. Try it at Christie's sometime.
They were literally scalping properties. And, like a scalper who has too much inventory, they’re now selling at a loss.