It;s Possible

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First, US Federal Capital gains Tax has been significantly reduced in the last several years and can be as alow as 5% for a long term capital gain.

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=106799,00.html

Second, you can avoid capital gain altogether if you make the home your primary residence for two of the previous 5 tax years and realize a capital gain of $250,000 or less if you are single and $500,000 or less if you are married.

The downside to turning around a property by buying it, renovating it, then immediately selling it, is that it is considered a short term capital gain, gets taxed at a higher rate than a long term gain, and if you do most of the work yourself, you can only claim materials...not any of your labor...as a deduction against that capital gain.

This does not mean you should not do it.

Buying below market value and selling above can be a great way to make capital quickly...especially in the cool stock and bond but hot real estate markets.