A sourced roundup of the numbers that actually matter if you wholesale or invest in real estate in 2026: what a deal pays, how much of the market investors control, how much distressed supply is out there, and what it costs to reach a motivated seller. Every figure links to its source. Cite them, but check them first.
Assignment fees: what a wholesale deal pays
Assignment fee data comes from a 2025 Real Estate Bees survey of more than 1,000 professional wholesalers across 19 states and 38 metros. It is the most-cited fee benchmark in the industry.
- The national average assignment fee is about $13,000.
- North Carolina and Georgia are highest at about $22,000, roughly a 69% premium over the national average.
- Arizona is lowest at about $5,000.
- The highest-fee city is St. Louis, Missouri, at about $25,000.
- Experienced wholesalers typically earn $15,000 to $20,000 per deal.
| State | Avg assignment fee |
|---|---|
| North Carolina | $22,000 |
| Georgia | $22,000 |
| Missouri | $18,000 |
| New Jersey | $15,000 |
| California | $14,000 |
| Florida | $13,000 |
| Texas | $11,000 |
| Ohio | $11,000 |
| Arizona | $5,000 |
Source: Real Estate Bees, Average Wholesale Assignment Fee (2025 survey). Want to price a specific deal? Run the numbers in our wholesale real estate calculator.
Investor market share: who is buying
Wholesaling depends on cash buyers, so investor activity is the demand side of your business. Estimates vary by methodology, which is worth understanding before you cite one.
- Investors bought about 34% of single-family homes sold in Q3 2025, a five-year high, up from 25.5% a year earlier (BatchData and CJ Patrick Company).
- Cotality put the full-year 2025 figure near 30% of purchases, up from 29% in 2024.
- Redfin, using a broader definition of all home types, reported investors bought roughly 17 to 19% of homes through early 2026.
- Investors own about 18% of the nation's 86 million single-family homes.
- Small investors (1 to 5 properties) hold about 92% of investor-owned homes. Institutional investors with 1,000+ properties are just 2%.
- Investor purchases averaged 80,000 to 100,000 homes per month in 2025.
The takeaway for wholesalers: the market is dominated by small, local investors, not Wall Street. Over 90% of your potential cash buyers own a handful of properties, which is exactly who you build a buyers list from.
Sources: BatchData Q3 2025 Investor Pulse; Cotality via HousingWire; Redfin investor report, Q1 2026.
Distressed inventory: the seller supply
Foreclosure and equity data tells you how many owners are under pressure to sell. Activity rose in 2025 but remains far below crisis-era levels.
- 367,460 properties had foreclosure filings in 2025, up 14% from 2024, but down 87% from the 2010 peak. That is 0.26% of all housing units.
- Lenders started foreclosure on 289,441 properties (up 14%) and repossessed 46,439 (up 27%).
- The most foreclosure starts were in Texas (37,215), Florida (34,336), California (29,777), Illinois, and New York.
- 43.3% of mortgaged homes were equity-rich in Q1 2026 (owner owes no more than half the value), down from 46.2% a year earlier. High equity means sellers can afford to take a cash offer and still walk away with money.
Sources: ATTOM Year-End 2025 Foreclosure Report; ATTOM Equity-Rich Properties, Q1 2026. More on turning this into a list in how to find motivated sellers.
Cash buyers: how deals close
- 32.8% of home sales in the first half of 2025 were all cash, above the pre-pandemic average of 28.6% (Realtor.com).
- Cash dominates the low end: about two-thirds of homes under $100,000 are bought without a mortgage.
- Mississippi has the highest cash share at 49.6%.
Source: Realtor.com data via National Mortgage Professional (2025).
Where wholesalers are working in 2026
The same Real Estate Bees survey asked active wholesalers to rank markets. The leaders reflect a mix of deal volume, buyer demand, and spread.
| Top states | Top cities |
|---|---|
| Texas | Orlando, FL |
| Missouri | Houston, TX |
| New Jersey | Riverside, CA |
| Nebraska | St. Louis, MO |
| New Hampshire | Kansas City, MO |
Source: Real Estate Bees, Best States to Wholesale Real Estate (2026).
Wholesaling regulation is tightening
The legal ground under wholesaling shifted hard in 2025, and it matters for how you contract and disclose.
- Six states passed new wholesaling legislation in 2025, including Pennsylvania's Act 52 (effective January 4, 2025), which requires specific disclosures and gives consumers 30 days to cancel.
- Connecticut, Maryland, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and North Dakota also enacted new rules focused on disclosure and licensing thresholds.
- Around ten states now require a license after one or two contract assignments.
Source: aggregated state legislation reporting via 2026 wholesale contract guide. Verify your own state's rules before contracting.
What it costs to reach a motivated seller
Supply and demand are only half the business. The other half is outreach cost, and the channels vary by an order of magnitude.
| Channel | Benchmark | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Direct mail response | ~1-2% (investors) | Industry-wide average is 3.3 to 4.4%; investor lists pull lower |
| Direct mail, cost per deal | $2,000+ | 5,000 pieces at ~$0.40 each, ~1% response, ~1 deal |
| SMS response rate | ~45% | Versus about 6% for email; 81% of texts are read within 5 minutes |
| Exclusive pay-per-lead | $80-$450 / lead | Priced by market tier |
| Cost per closed deal (paid) | $1,000-$2,700 | Across PPC, Meta, and pay-per-lead |
The gap between a 1 to 2% direct mail response and a texting channel where nearly half of recipients reply is why cost per contract varies so much between operators. We break the full economics down in cost per deal in wholesaling and how much motivated seller leads cost.
Sources: ANA/DMA direct mail benchmarks; REsimpli direct mail example; Sakari SMS benchmarks 2025.
Reach the distressed sellers behind these numbers
The stats show where the deals are. The hard part is getting a motivated seller on the phone before another investor does. Vocalxlabs runs the AI Acquisition Manager: compliant AI cold SMS that texts your market, holds real conversations, and qualifies sellers on motivation, price, condition, and timeline. Start with a free 2-week pilot, covering only data costs, with no setup fee until it produces qualified sellers.
Start the free 2-week pilotFrequently asked questions
What is the average wholesale assignment fee in 2026?
About $13,000 nationally, based on a 2025 Real Estate Bees survey of more than 1,000 wholesalers. Fees run from around $5,000 in Arizona to $22,000 in North Carolina and Georgia, with St. Louis the highest city at about $25,000.
What share of homes do real estate investors buy?
Investors bought about 34% of single-family homes sold in Q3 2025, a five-year high, per BatchData. Cotality put full-year 2025 near 30% of purchases. Redfin, using a broader definition, reported roughly 17 to 19% of all homes. Investors own about 18% of the country's 86 million single-family homes.
How many foreclosures were there in 2025?
367,460 properties had foreclosure filings in 2025, up 14% from 2024 but down 87% from the 2010 peak, per ATTOM. That is 0.26% of all housing units. Lenders started foreclosure on 289,441 properties and repossessed 46,439.
What percentage of home sales are all cash?
About 32.8% of sales in the first half of 2025 were all cash, above the pre-pandemic 28.6%, per Realtor.com. Roughly two-thirds of homes under $100,000 are bought without a mortgage.
Which states are best for wholesaling in 2026?
A 2026 Real Estate Bees survey ranked Texas, Missouri, New Jersey, Nebraska, and New Hampshire as top states, with Orlando, Houston, Riverside, St. Louis, and Kansas City among the top cities.
The bottom line
Distressed supply is rising, investor demand is near a five-year high, and the average deal pays around $13,000. The constraint on most wholesaling businesses is not the market, it is reach: getting to a motivated seller before the competition, at a cost that leaves room for a fee. That is a solvable problem, and it starts with finding motivated sellers on purpose.
Primary sources: Real Estate Bees (assignment fees, best markets); BatchData / CJ Patrick, Cotality, Redfin (investor share); ATTOM (foreclosures, equity); Realtor.com (cash sales); ANA/DMA, REsimpli, Sakari (channel benchmarks). All figures reflect the most recent reports available as of July 2026.