By Les Christie, staff writerApril 13, 2011: 5:26 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Even in these down times, there’s money to be made buying and flipping houses.

One might think this would be a most dangerous game — after all, home prices are down more than a third from their peak in most areas. But plenty of investors are taking the risk in exchange for big profits.

In fact, nearly 1 million homes were bought as investment properties in 2010, according to the National Association of Realtors.

“It’s absolutely viable,” said Perry Henderson, a real estate agent and investor in Austin, Texas. “But you have to buy intelligently and go after the right opportunities.”

Henderson helped one investor close a deal on a three-bedroom, two-bath house for $138,000 in Austin. His client is now selling the property for $188,000 after putting in $10,000 worth of repairs. Add in transaction costs and this investor is still making at least $20,000 in just a few weeks of work.

Of course, this is Texas where home prices have remained more stable. The buy-and-flip is more difficult to execute in Florida, where the bubble hit hard.

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