Which seller lists sell in Texas? 55 counties, counted
By Josh MillerUpdated 4 min readAcross the 55 Texas counties we could measure fully, of every 100 owners whose listing expired or was cancelled, about 12 sold off-market within 12 months, and about 7 of every 100 with a lien filed against the property did, against about 1.4 for any house. The big one-click lists sold at or below a random house: free and clear at 1.3 per 100 and owners over 65 living elsewhere at 1.0.
Texas is one of the biggest off-market states in the country. Across the 177 Texas counties in our records, about 137,800 homes sold off-market in an arm's-length sale over 12 months, about 42 of every 100 sales. That's a lot of sellers who never called an agent.
Which of them could you have found on a list first? We counted every list in every Texas county with enough records to measure.
The count, list by list
| List | Of every 100, sold | Any house, at random | Counties | Owners on it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Listing expired or cancelled | 11.6 | 1.4 | 55 | 71,316 |
| Foreclosure filed | 7.4 | 1.4 | 3 | 1,667 |
| Lien filed against the property | 7.1 | 1.5 | 23 | 18,335 |
| Divorce filed | 3.9 | 1.5 | 4 | 1,731 |
| Sitting vacant | 3.5 | 1.9 | 43 | 75,464 |
| Behind on taxes, 5 or more years | 2.7 | 1.8 | 44 | 134,244 |
| Behind on taxes, 2 to 4 years | 2.3 | 1.7 | 54 | 470,246 |
| Judgment against the owner | 1.7 | 1.5 | 6 | 12,191 |
| High equity, living elsewhere | 1.6 | 1.6 | 141 | 1,376,723 |
| Owns it free and clear | 1.3 | 1.6 | 154 | 3,785,244 |
| Owner 65+, living elsewhere | 1.0 | 1.7 | 45 | 231,119 |
Source: GoForClose count of off-market, arm's-length deeds in Texas county records. A county is counted for a list only where the list was big enough to measure, so each row covers its own set of counties, and the random-house figure is for those counties.
Three things the count says
The filings win in Texas, same as everywhere. Expired listings sold at about 12 per 100 across 55 counties, and liens at about 7 across 23. Both are lists with a date on them: something happened to this owner, recently.
The big lists are the weak ones. 3.8 million Texas owners own free and clear. About 1.3 of every 100 sold off-market in a year, below a house picked at random in the same counties. Owners over 65 living elsewhere sold at 1.0. These are the lists most investors mail first, because they're one click in a list tool.
Foreclosures are hard to count in Texas. Texas forecloses outside the courts: the lender posts a sale notice at the courthouse and files it with the county clerk at least 21 days before the first-Tuesday auction (Texas Property Code 51.002). We had enough sales to measure that list in only 3 counties, Harris, Fort Bend and Bexar, where about 7 of every 100 sold off-market within a year.
County by county, it moves
The state number hides real differences. Expired listings sold at about 15 per 100 in Harris County and about 8 in Denton County. Liens sold at about 10 per 100 in Dallas County and about 4 in Collin County next door. Before you mail a list, check it in your county.
- Houston: Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery
- Dallas Fort Worth: Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton
- San Antonio: Bexar County
When to mail each list
A list that sells in the first 3 months needs your letter in the first 3 months. Expired listings in Texas were front-loaded in 50 of the 55 counties we measured, and liens in 15 of 23. Lists that sit there, like taxes and vacant, sell across the year. See the selling window for each list in your county.
Questions investors ask
What is the best motivated seller list in Texas?
Expired and cancelled listings: about 12 of every 100 owners sold off-market within 12 months across 55 Texas counties, where a house picked at random sold at about 1.4 per 100. Liens filed against the property came next, at about 7 per 100 across 23 counties.
How many Texas homes sell off-market?
Across the 177 Texas counties in our records, about 137,800 homes sold off-market in an arm's-length sale over 12 months, out of about 326,900 sales, about 42 of every 100.
Are tax delinquent lists good in Texas?
Better than a random house, not close to the filings. Owners 5 or more years behind sold off-market at about 2.7 per 100 within 12 months across 44 Texas counties, and 2 to 4 years behind at about 2.3 per 100 across 54.
Why are foreclosure filings missing from most Texas counties?
Texas forecloses outside the courts, so the filing is a sale notice at the county clerk, and we could measure it with enough sales in only 3 counties. Where we could, about 7 of every 100 sold off-market within a year.