Motivated Seller Data Report: Why Is It Time to Invest Now?

Where to Find Motivated Seller Leads in August 2026?

The real estate market is constantly sending signals. The challenge is to understand the difference between genuine distress signals and normal market fluctuations.

Changes in home values, days on market, inventory, property taxes, foreclosure activity, financing costs, and local economic conditions can all create opportunities for investors who know where to look.

This month, we've identified 10 counties where our investors have been particularly active and where we've already generated hundreds of motivated seller leads. These are homeowners who have expressed an interest in selling or working with a cash buyer.

Where Do Investors Find Motivated Seller Leads?

It's one of the most common questions real estate investors ask:

“Where do I go to find motivated seller leads?”

The answer isn't always a particular property type or lead source. Sometimes, it's a market.

That's why we're looking at the top 10 counties for motivated seller activity in August 2026—and the economic and housing-market conditions that may be contributing to seller motivation in each one.

We've already generated hundreds of qualified motivated seller leads in these areas. The task now is to understand why these homeowners are willing to consider a cash offer—and reach them while the opportunity is still active.

1. Wayne County, Michigan

# of Leads Generated: 589

The average home value in Wayne County is $179,490, up 1.4% over the past year, per Zillow. Home sales have taken a slight dip because of rising mortgage rates in July, 2026.

Overall, Wayne County represents a kind of balanced housing market with 6,400 homes available for sale. Around 40% of the properties sell above asking price, and the same percentage sells for below the listing price. But there are a couple of problems:

Why Motivated Sellers are Increasing:

• Around 19,000 workers were laid off back in May 2026 in the automotive sector.
• The automotive sector in Wayne County was hit hard by tariffs, AI technology, and other economic factors. The layoffs are still happening in other sectors, with RNDC scheduled to lay off 641 workers by August 2026.

Wayne County represents a market where the expectations simply don’t match the reality. There are three overlapping scenarios:

• A homeowner believes their home is worth certain $$$
• A conventional buyer can only finance a certain amount
• The owner can only receive a realistic amount without making repairs

After spending some time in the market, homeowners adjust expectations and choose a cash sale to move forward.

2. Cook County, Illinois

# of Leads Generated: 392

The average home value in Cook County is $344,339, up 5.3% year over year. The headline number looks stable, but a second look at the market data tells a very different story: bottom-tier homes in Cook County are spending 69 days on market, and sales in that segment fell more than 6% year over year.

Why Motivated Sellers Are Increasing

• Like other markets, mortgage rates have seen a consistent increase after which buyers struggle to find financing.
• Low-priced segments in Cook County involve aged properties requiring repairs. This market segment faces price reductions and cancelation even when a contract is signed.
• The motivated seller market in Cook County is being driven by the combination of high property values, expensive financing, and properties that are difficult to sell conventionally.

3. Bexar County, Texas

# of Leads Generated: 322

The average home value in Bexar County is $256,204, down 2.2% year over year, with 58% of properties selling below listing price. Homes are taking significantly longer to sell: the median days on market are 60 days.

Bexar County is experiencing a significant property-value shift. County officials said in August that the county faces a projected $145 million budget deficit through 2028, partly because property values have stagnated after years of rapid growth.

Why Motivated Sellers Are Increasing

• Homeowners are not benefitting from the appreciation as the property values are going down.
• Households in Bexar County are facing financial pressure. A new August report found that 23% of Bexar County residents are food insecure, equivalent to roughly 467,000 people. Importantly, 43% of food-insecure residents earn too much to qualify for SNAP, indicating that rising housing, food, and fuel costs are affecting households that aren't necessarily classified as low-income. These households are not necessarily selling homes, but the financial pressure is real amidst growing inflation.
• Foreclosure activity remains a top source for motivated seller leads in Bexar County.

4. Maricopa County, Arizona

# of Leads Generated: 289

The average home value in Maricopa County is $460,237, down 1.3% over the past year, according to Zillow's latest county data through July 31, 2026. According to Redfin, it takes 60 days to sell a house in Maricopa, AZ, with 61% of homes selling below the asking price.

Why Motivated Sellers are Increasing:

• Selling conventionally in Maricopa County requires patience, and you must be flexible with pricing.
• Property values are declining; homes are taking longer to sell even after price cuts.
• At the same time, homeowners facing foreclosure, expensive insurance, repairs, or other carrying costs have less incentive to wait for the perfect financed buyer.

5. Lake County, Florida

# of Leads Generated: 283

The average home value in Lake County is $364,142, down 2.8% over the past year, according to Zillow's latest data. Homes are taking 52 days to sell, compared with 49 days a year earlier, with 23.4% of listings having price reductions.

Why Motivated Sellers are Increasing:

• Homeowners are facing a combination of declining values, longer marketing periods, and frequent offers below asking price.
• Foreclosure activity is on the rise throughout the state of Florida. Owners who need to sell because of foreclosure risk, property condition, relocation, or financial pressure have less negotiating leverage than they would have in a rapidly appreciating market.

6. Broward County, Florida

# of Leads Generated: 237

The average home value in Broward County is $425,778, down 2.8% year over year. That headline appreciation masks serious stress in specific segments. It takes more than 82 days to sell a house in Broward County, with more than 76% of properties selling below the listing price.

According to an August update, Fannie Mae is asking condominiums to set aside 15% in reserves to handle future repairs. This is particularly relevant to Broward because of its large concentration of older coastal condominium buildings. Owners facing rising HOA costs, insurance expenses, special assessments, or difficulty getting a conventional buyer financed can have a much harder time exiting the property.

Why Motivated Sellers Are Increasing

• Broward County is a cooling real estate market, with sellers experiencing low price appreciation and longer times on the market combined with increasing homeownership costs in Florida.
• Owners of aging condos have a strong incentive to accept cash offers so they can skip all the repairs, HOA fees, and strict financing requirements.

7. Los Angeles County, California

# of Leads Generated: 225

The average home value in Los Angeles County is $885,635, up 0.3% year over year. It takes 44 days to sell a house here, with around 40% of homes selling below the listing price.

Why Motivated Sellers Are Increasing

• The January 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires destroyed more than 16,000 structures across Los Angeles County, representing approximately $51.7 billion in residential property.
• Cash offers are the only realistic path for homeowners because of homes requiring repairs. New buyers also find it challenging to obtain insurance coverage.
• New Cotality research published in August 2026 found that mortgage delinquencies in ZIP codes affected by the fires remain more than twice their pre-fire level more than a year after the disaster. That creates a particularly relevant pool of homeowners who may need to sell damaged, partially repaired, or financially burdensome properties.

8. Hinds County, Mississippi

# of Leads Generated: 220

The average value of homes in Hinds County is $130,448, up 2.3% from last year. It takes 34 days to sell a house here, with 59% of homes selling below the asking price.

Why Motivated Sellers are Increasing:

• Hinds County's August opportunity is less about a weak housing market and more about property-level distress. Homes are selling relatively quickly, and Zillow shows modest appreciation, so conventional market conditions alone don't explain a surge in cash sellers.
• Instead, the strongest August lead source is delinquent property taxes and foreclosure activity. Owners whose properties are approaching a tax sale or foreclosure have a much stronger reason to prioritize speed and certainty over maximizing the retail sale price. A cash buyer can purchase as-is without waiting for conventional financing, appraisal, or repairs.

9. Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

# of Leads Generated: 209

The average home value in Philadelphia County is $234,557, up 0.2% year over year. It takes 47 days to sell a house, whereas around 50% of properties sell below the listing price.

Why Motivated Sellers are Increasing:

• The city's dense aging housing stock requires ongoing capital investment that many owners, particularly in lower-income and fixed-income households, cannot sustain.
• When appreciation is modest and repair costs are high, a cash sale becomes the cleanest exit.
• Pennsylvania is among the states with the highest foreclosure rate.
• While there is modest price appreciation, the increasing mortgage rates make it difficult to obtain financing for properties.

10. Miami-Dade County, Florida

# of Leads Generated: 204

The average home value in Miami-Dade County is $523,890, down 0.8% year over year. In Miami specifically, Redfin reports a median sale price of $649,000 with homes averaging 116 days on market, up from 103 days the prior year.

In Miami-Dade County, it takes 91 days to sell a house, and more than 75% of homes are sold below the listing price.

Why Motivated Sellers are Increasing

• Miami-Dade County in Florida has been hit by several issues this year. Many motivated sellers are facing high HOA fees and expensive repair costs, along with increasing mortgage rates and the increased cost of living.
• Miami-Dade is approximately 56% overvalued relative to local incomes, with a price-to-income ratio of 7.58x and a cost of living running 21% above the national average. These structural affordability pressures are pushing longtime residents out of the market.

That being said, the demand has not disappeared. It’s time for investors to find hidden opportunities in this county and expand their portfolios.

Top 10 Counties Where Real Estate Investors Are Most Active in August 2026

Where are real estate investors finding the most opportunities right now?

Our August 2026 activity data highlights the counties and county-equivalents where investors have been most active this month. These markets are attracting attention from investors looking for properties that may offer opportunities for cash purchases, distressed sales, motivated sellers, and off-market deals.

Where Investors Are Most Active

• Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
• Rockingham County, New Hampshire
• Norfolk City, Virginia
• Ada County, Idaho
• Oakland County, Michigan
• Kalamazoo County, Michigan
• Canyon County, Idaho
• Chesterfield County, Virginia
• Kent County, Michigan
• Macomb County, Michigan
• Broward County, Florida
• Orange County, California
• Monroe County, Michigan

What do these markets have in common? Not necessarily high home prices or rapidly rising values. Investor activity can increase when homeowners face a combination of property taxes, rising ownership costs, slower sales, declining affordability, foreclosure risk, deferred maintenance, or difficulty selling traditionally.

That makes investor activity an important signal for identifying where motivated seller opportunities may be emerging in August 2026.

Data sourced from Zillow (home values), Redfin (days on market and median sale price), local foreclosure records, and current regional market reports. All figures reflect July–August 2026 data. Verify individual figures before use in offers or presentations.

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