High mortgage rates, overall housing costs and economic uncertainty are keeping many would-be buyers on the sidelines. For agents, the challenge is no longer finding owners who want to sell. Instead, it’s identifying the sellers whose life circumstances have changed and who are now prioritizing selling over obtaining the highest possible price.
A recent Redfin study estimates that approximately 967,000 buyers and 1.463 million sellers were active in the market in July, 2026. In other words, there were nearly half a million more sellers than buyers, with sellers outnumbering buyers by 51.3 percent.
Expired listings and FSBOs are no longer your prime target
For years, the real estate industry has concentrated on expired and for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) properties as the prime sources for obtaining new listings. That equation changes when there are substantially more sellers than there are buyers. Owners of overpriced listings often end up chasing the market down as the listing inventory and the number of expired listings grows even larger.
In contrast, the three categories of must-sell sellers include:
- Deadline-driven: The owner must close the sale quickly due to a relocation, court order, divorce, probate deadline or another move that is already underway.
- Cost-driven: The financial cost of continuing to own the property has become greater than the perceived benefit of waiting for a higher price.
- Capacity-driven: The owner may have sufficient equity and financial resources, but no longer has the time, health, energy, expertise or desire to continue managing the property.
In terms of motivation, many of the most motivated sellers may fall into two or even three of these categories.
The 10 seller groups most likely to sell now
1. Owners relocating for work or military personnel being stationed elsewhere
A job relocation or military transfer creates a moving date that has little to do with current real estate conditions. The seller may need to report to a new location, move the family or begin managing a vacant property from another state. These sellers often place more value on certainty, timing and a definite closing date as opposed to obtaining the highest possible price.
2. Divorcing couples or partnership breakups
In many cases, a divorce, business breakup or dispute between co-owners can force the sale of a property or investment when market conditions are unfavorable. The owners may have a court deadline, settlement agreement or immediate need to divide the equity so both parties can move forward.
This situation requires neutrality, careful communication and coordination with the parties’ attorneys or other advisers.
3. Owners of expired listings whose circumstances have changed
Expired listings should continue to be an important part of your prospecting plan. The key factor that determines which ones are poor prospects versus good prospects is their motivation.
Examples include families that must relocate, owners who have moved into a new home and no longer want the previous property to sit vacant and sellers who are now willing to price their property realistically.
4. Sellers carrying mortgages on two homes
These sellers have purchased another property, relocated before selling or closed on a newly completed home. Every month they fail to sell their previous home means absorbing two mortgage payments, property tax obligations, insurance costs, utility bills and ongoing maintenance.
A seller may realize that lowering their price is a better option than continuing to pay the costs of maintaining two houses.
5. Small investors whose properties no longer cash flow
Mom-and-pop landlords may be absorbing higher property taxes, insurance premiums, repair costs, HOA fees, vacancies or tenant-related expenses. The strongest opportunities often arise when the landlord faces a specific financial trigger such as a major repair, an insurance renewal, a prolonged vacancy, a lease expiration or another event that forces the owner to decide whether owning this property still makes sense financially.
6. Owners of second homes
Second-home owners whose properties sit vacant and produce no income or who do not use them frequently enough to justify the mortgage, taxes, insurance, HOA dues and upkeep can be excellent prospects. This is especially true as ownership costs continue to rise across all the properties they own.
7. Owners who can no longer handle the financial pressure
Special assessments, increased property taxes, balloon payments, increased overhead, coupled with other debts, especially on credit cards, can create a genuine need for these owners to sell. If the owner is facing foreclosure or another immediate need for cash, make sure there is enough time to complete the sale before any applicable deadline.
8. Builders, flippers and investors with stale inventory
Small builders and investors become increasingly motivated as their completed properties sit unsold. In many cases, they have construction loans, bridge financing or hard-money loans with high interest rates. As carrying costs continue to increase and loans approach maturity, preserving capital often becomes more important than protecting the original projected profit.
9. Heirs who inherited a property
This can be one of the best possible sources of sellers who need to sell now, especially if the heirs live outside the area where the property is located. The home may be vacant, filled with personal belongings, in need of repairs or owned jointly by family members who disagree about what should happen next.
Complicating matters, the heirs may be paying to insure and maintain the property out of money they may not have. Even if they have the financial capacity to keep the property, many lack the time, emotional energy or desire to manage it. When the heirs also face probate or estate deadlines, they are likely to be among the most motivated sellers you will encounter.
10. Seniors facing major life transitions
A health issue such as a broken hip or knee replacement, the death of a spouse, a move closer to family or the decision to enter an assisted-living community can make selling a necessity rather than a choice.
These homeowners often need not only your real estate expertise, but also resources for coordinating repairs, sorting possessions, arranging an estate sale and locating movers before the property goes on the market.
Discover their motivation
Regardless of which categories apply to a given seller, always take the time to discover what is motivating them to sell, especially if their circumstances have changed. The strongest opportunities emerge when a deadline, rising ownership costs or reduced capacity to manage the property reduces the seller’s options.
The agent who identifies that motivation early, helps the owner prepare and price the property for current market conditions and then guides them through the transaction to closing will stand out from all the other agents who simply walk in and do a listing presentation.
Bernice Ross is president and CEO of BrokerageUP and RealEstateCoach.com, the founder of Profit.RealEstate and a national speaker, author and trainer with over 1,500 published articles.
