Motivated Seller Market Report: Top Counties with Best Opportunities in July, 2026

There are 14.5 million properties in the U.S. sitting vacant—and only 800,000 of them are available for sale. You would think that those properties are being used as rentals, but that’s not true. More than 35.9% of these homes are vacant because of waiting settlement of an estate, legal proceedings, repairs, or unspecified personal reasons.

On top of that, in June 2026, the residential construction sector lost 8,600 jobs, which indicates a softening labor market in the construction sector.

With this, we present to you our monthly report of the hottest counties representing motivated seller demand in July, 2026.

Wayne County, Michigan

# of Leads Generated: 527

Home prices in the Detroit area are still rising but the sales volume is falling and homes are sitting longer on the market. Overall, homes spend a median of 45 days on market in Wayne County. Average home value in Wayne, Michigan, sits at $181,365, which is a 1.5% increase from last year.

Hundreds of Detroit properties have faced foreclosure this year. Wayne County maintains a running 2026 delinquent tax foreclosure list published via Detroit Legal News.

Why Motivated Sellers Are Increasing

• Many Michigan homes — especially in Detroit — are too old or need too many repairs to qualify for traditional mortgage financing, which structurally narrows the buyer pool to cash/investor buyers regardless of price.
• There is legal uncertainty regarding tax foreclosures in Wayne County, MI. Active 2026 tax foreclosure judgments combined with new rulings create uncertainty and push homeowners to seek off-market transactions.
• GM, Ford, and Stellantis have together cut more than 20,000 U.S. salaried jobs, or 19% of their combined workforces, from recent employment peaks, with GM adding to reductions with 500–600 more salaried layoffs, largely in IT operations in Texas and Michigan as recently as May 2026. This directly pressures household budgets in a county still heavily tied to the auto industry.

Real estate investors should pay attention to two important market segments in Wayne, MI. (1) Tax-distressed/absentee owners in the active Wayne County foreclosure pipeline. These people need your help immediately. (2). White-collar employees who lost their jobs because of AI or the auto sector facing income disruption.

St. Louis County, Missouri

# of Leads Generated: 352

St. Louis County itself remains tight and price-firm—homes sell in a median of 11 days on the market, with the median sale price at $312K, up 3.6% year-over-year.

Property tax assessments have become a flashpoint: St. Louis County's property tax appeal deadline is July 13, 2026, and the county's biennial reassessment has pushed many homeowners' bills up sharply, with lower-value homes ($100K–$200K) seeing some of the steepest percentage increases.

Why Motivated Sellers Are Increasing

• County-wide reassessments have produced 15–20% jumps in property tax bills. Homeowners on fixed incomes and retirees on a limited income are having a hard time paying the new bills. Lower-equity owners may lean toward selling rather than absorbing recurring tax hikes.

Cook County, Illinois

# of Leads Generated: 316

Home prices in Cook County continue to rise, with the average home value sitting around $343,350 (+5% YoY). It takes around 46 days for a home to sell in Cook County. Despite strong market growth, we are seeing 450+ active foreclosure listings across the county.

Why Motivated Sellers Are Increasing

Homeowners in Cook County are seeing a sharp increase in property tax bills. This is the first full reassessment of this region since 2023, which produced increases of up to 700% in some neighborhoods.

Cook County is a split-price market. On one hand, you will see home prices rising steadily but at the same time, homeowners are struggling with foreclosure and tax-related bills.

Bexar County, TX

# of Leads Generated: 306

Texas is one of the quickest foreclosure states. For a non-judicial foreclosure, it could be less than 150 days before the foreclosure process is complete. The average home value in Bexar County is $257,364, and values are down by 2% since last year. On average, it takes more than 65 days to sell a house in Bexar County. At the same time, there are 440+ properties heading into foreclosure auction (Aug 2026 pipeline).

Why Motivated Sellers Are Increasing

The real estate market is experiencing a slow time in Bexar County:

• Properties are taking longer to sell and the overall sales volume is declining, which puts pressure on homeowners to accept discounted prices or choose a cash transaction.

• There are 400+ properties immediately heading into foreclosure and many are in the pre-foreclosure phase.

• The recent tornado and flooding in San Antonio have caused localized property damage and it may contribute to more demand for off-market, cash transactions in Bexar County.

Maricopa, AZ

# of Leads Generated: 305

The average home value in Maricopa County is $461,315 (-1.5% YoY), showing clear price softening after prior rapid growth. Homes are taking around 59 days to sell, which indicates a relatively slow market considering buyer demand.

Why Motivated Sellers are Increasing

• Maricopa County has shown signs of distress over the last few months as we consistently generate leads from this county. The reason is simple. The home prices have not kept up with inflation. It’s taking longer to sell a property and repairs are becoming expensive.

Broward, FL

# of Leads Generated: 245

The condo market in Broward County is suffering but single-family homes are seeing price appreciation. The average home value in Broward County is approximately $424,261. That’s a yearly decline of 3.6%.

Why Motivated Sellers are Increasing

• Broward County has been a slow market thanks to several factors such as inflated home prices, natural disasters, and loss of jobs because of technologies such as AI. Previous issues related to high insurance premiums are slowly fading now.
• We have consistently generated leads from Broward County and this report is another invitation to you. You can find eager, motivated sellers right in Broward County. Right now it takes 80+ days to sell a house here. The inventory is not exactly tight at 18,000+ active listings. Investors should focus on owners of older condo units who are facing or anticipating a special assessment vote.

Lake County, FL

# of Leads Generated: 244

The average home price in Lake County in July sits at around $364,340. Like most regions in Florida, home prices in this county have lowered by 3.1% compared to last year. It takes more than 51 days to sell a house in Lake County, Florida.

Why motivated sellers are increasing

• Older homes in Lake County are competing with new construction properties that provide better developer incentives. According to Zillow, there are currently 1,400+ new construction homes available in Lake County, which is huge compared to the total inventory of 2,800.
• Investors should focus on owners of existing homes in the Clermont–Minneola–Groveland growth corridor who are trying to compete against new-construction incentives they can't match—particularly those who bought in the last few years and are now facing softening resale values.

Philadelphia, PA

# of Leads Generated in July: 241

Homes in Philadelphia are old—with a median age of 93 years. Many of these properties were constructed back in the 1940s-1950s. The aging stock results in a situation where 52% of properties sell below the listing price.

If you look at the market growth, it has been flat with only 0.4% annual growth and average prices standing at $237,474.

Why motivated sellers are increasing

• Philadelphia County has the highest foreclosure rate in the state of Pennsylvania, where 1 out of 4,217 homes is facing foreclosure.
• Aging housing stock creates issues with securing financing. Traditional buyers cannot acquire a property requiring significant work.
• More than 50% of homes selling below listing price shows softening demand from buyers.

Hinds, MS

# of Leads Generated in July: 230

The average home value in Hinds County is $132,636, which is a 2.3% appreciation from last year. There are 969 available listings according to Zillow but there is a red flag. 63% of properties sell below the listing price.

Why motivated sellers are increasing

• Hinds County is not a traditional distressed market. The issue here is wide differences in property prices across different neighborhoods. Homes requiring repairs tend to sit longer on the market and there are 60+ active foreclosure listings according to redfin.

Jefferson, TX

# of Leads Generated in July: 216

Home values in Jefferson County have seen a downward trend. The prices are down by 4% compared to last year and the average value is $167,684. The selling activity has seriously slowed down in this county. According to redfin, the average days on market have more than doubled since last year. Currently, it takes 106 days to sell a house in Jefferson County.

Why motivated sellers are increasing

• It’s a small market segment where new or move-in-ready homes have demand but the properties requiring repairs or maintenance can take months to sell even at a discounted price.

Top 10 Counties with the Most Investors in July 2026

There are ten other counties where our investors have been most active in the last month.

• Oakland, MI
• Union, NJ
• Cobb, GA
• Kent, MI
• Norfolk City, VA
• Kalmazoo, MI
• Macomb, MI
• Orange, FL
• Tarrant, TX
• Milwaukee, WI

*Report prepared in July 2026 based on publicly available data sources from June–July 2026. Data reflects market conditions as of the period cited. All figures should be independently verified before making investment decisions. This report does not constitute financial or legal advice.