Wholesale Real Estate Statistics (2026): 40+ Cited Data Points

Wholesaling is one of the most talked-about — and least measured — corners of real estate. Most "statistics" you'll find online are recycled from other blogs with no original source. This page is different: every number below links to where it came from — U.S. Census data, ATTOM, Redfin, the National Association of Realtors, the ANA/DMA direct-mail benchmark, a government survey from the Texas Real Estate Commission, and the largest wholesaler surveys available. Where a figure is a practitioner estimate rather than measured data, we say so plainly.

Last updated: June 2026.

Key Takeaways

• The average wholesale assignment fee is about $13,000, based on a survey of 1,000+ professional wholesalers (Real Estate Bees).
• Fees swing from ~$5,000 (Arizona) to ~$22,000 (Georgia & North Carolina) by state — more than a 4x spread.
• All-cash buyers made up 38.9% of home sales in 2024 (ATTOM) — the fast-close end buyers wholesalers assign contracts to.
• Investors bought about 18% of all homes sold in 2025 (Redfin).
• 47.7% of mortgaged homes were "equity-rich" in Q4 2024 (ATTOM) — the classic high-equity, motivated-seller target.
• Just 322,103 U.S. properties had a foreclosure filing in 2024 — 89% below the 2010 peak (ATTOM); the distressed pipeline is historically thin.
• Direct mail to cold seller lists realistically responds at 2–4%, not the headline 4.4% (ANA/DMA).
• Wholesaling is legal in all 50 states — but Oklahoma, Illinois, and Philadelphia now restrict or license it (see the state-by-state table below).

How Much Wholesalers Make Per Deal (Assignment Fees)

The assignment fee is a wholesaler's revenue: the difference between the price they lock a property under contract for and the price they assign that contract to an end buyer. The most credible national figure comes from Real Estate Bees, which surveyed more than 1,000 professional wholesalers across the country.

Assignment fee	Amount
National average	$13,000
Highest state (Georgia, North Carolina)	$22,000
Lowest state (Arizona)	$5,000
Highest metro (St. Louis, MO)	$25,000
Lowest metro (Sierra Vista, AZ)	$5,000

For a standard single-family deal (roughly $150k–$300k ARV), practitioners typically report $7,500–$15,000 per assignment; entry-level deals often land at $2,500–$5,000, while larger distressed spreads can reach $20,000–$40,000 (industry benchmarks, not survey data). A common pricing heuristic is 5%–10% of the purchase price — but the real constraint is keeping your end buyer at or below 70% of ARV minus repairs.

Running a specific deal? Our free wholesale real estate calculator applies the 70% rule and shows your maximum allowable offer instantly.

What Wholesalers Earn Per Year (Income)

Employed "real estate wholesaler" roles average $57,583/yr ($27.68/hr) nationally, according to ZipRecruiter (as of mid-2026):

Percentile	Annual pay
25th	$39,000
Average	$57,583
75th	$61,000
90th (top earners)	$86,000

That figure reflects W-2 job postings and understates independent operators, who earn per deal. An independent wholesaler closing one deal a month at the ~$13,000 average would gross roughly $156,000/yr before expenses — but most beginners close far fewer, and income is lumpy. Practitioner tiers (an illustrative estimate from Real Estate Skills, not survey data) run from ~$30k–$60k in year one to $300k+ for established teams.

Two reality checks on "deals closed": roughly 20–30% of contracts fall through before closing (practitioner benchmark), and the Texas Real Estate Commission's 2024 government survey found that title companies flagged wholesale contracts as more likely to cancel than other transaction types. Deals under contract are not the same as checks cashed.

For the full breakdown — salary vs. per-deal income, by experience and by state — see How Much Do Real Estate Wholesalers Make?.

The Market Wholesalers Actually Fish In

Wholesaling lives or dies on two things: demand (cash and investor buyers to assign to) and supply (motivated, discounted sellers). Here's what both look like right now, from primary data:

Metric	Value	Year	Source
U.S. existing-home sales	4.06 million	2024	NAR
All-cash share of sales (deed data)	38.9%	2024	ATTOM
All-cash share of buyers (survey)	26%	2025	NAR
Investor share of homes sold	~18%	2025	Redfin
Institutional-investor share (10+ buys/yr)	6.3%	2024	ATTOM
Equity-rich mortgaged homes (≤50% LTV)	47.7%	Q4 2024	ATTOM
Seriously underwater homes	2.5%	Q4 2024	ATTOM
Foreclosure filings (all)	322,103	2024	ATTOM
Foreclosure starts (pre-foreclosure pool)	253,306	2024	ATTOM
Distressed / REO sales share	1.4%	2024	ATTOM
Vacant housing units	~15.1 million (10.3%)	2024	Census

Two things jump out. Demand is deep: 38.9% of 2024 sales were all-cash and investors bought about 18% of homes in 2025 — that's the buy-side wholesalers assign into. But distressed supply is thin: foreclosure activity is 89% below the 2010 peak and REO sales are just 1.4% of the market. The takeaway: the easy "bank-owned bargain" era is over. Today's deals come from equity-rich but motivated owners — nearly half of all mortgaged homes — plus vacant and absentee properties, not the foreclosure list.

One methodology note: the cash-sale share differs by source because they measure different things. ATTOM's 38.9% counts every deed transaction (including investor and LLC cash), while NAR's 26% surveys owner-occupant buyers. Both are correct.

Which metros have the most inventory and slowest days-on-market right now? Our best markets to wholesale page pulls live data by metro.

What It Costs to Find a Deal (Marketing)

Direct mail is still the workhorse of seller marketing. The ANA/DMA Response Rate Report puts overall direct-mail response at 4.4% — but that blends warm "house" lists (5–9%) with cold "prospect" lists (2.0–4.4%). Since almost all seller mail goes to cold lists, plan for 2–4%, not the headline number. By format, postcards average ~5.7% and letter-size envelopes ~4.3% (ANA, 2023). For perspective, direct mail out-responds email (0.12%) by roughly 36x per piece.

On budgets and channels, Carrot's 2025 State of Marketing survey of real estate investors (a smaller, REI-specific sample) found:

Marketing benchmark	Figure
Median annual marketing budget	~$12,000
Avg. lead-gen strategies used	~3
#1 lead source	Referrals & networking
Motivated-seller PPC — cost per click	~$25
Motivated-seller PPC — cost per lead	~$250

Seller-intent PPC is expensive because keywords like "sell my house fast" are premium — far above the ~$2–3 cost-per-click of generic real-estate ads. As a rule of thumb, keeping your cost per signed contract under ~$5,000 is considered healthy; vendor data suggests direct mail and SMS run ~$4,000–$9,000 per deal and cold calling ~$8,000–$12,000 in competitive metros (a vendor estimate, not audited).

A caution on cold calling: the connect rate for outbound calling is around 16.6%, and it takes ~8 attempts on average to reach someone — but those are general sales benchmarks, not wholesaling-specific. Treat any oddly precise "REI cold-call conversion %" you see skeptically; there is no credible primary study behind them.

Cold calling is where most wholesale deals are won or lost. You can practice it free against a realistic AI seller in our Cold Call Trainer before you ever dial a real lead.

Is Wholesaling Real Estate Legal? (State-by-State, 2026)

Yes — wholesaling is legal in all 50 states. The legal line is the same everywhere: you may market and assign your equitable interest in the contract, but marketing the property itself — advertising a home you don't own, for compensation — is unlicensed brokerage in most states. Since about 2019, a wave of consumer-protection laws has layered on required disclosures, cancellation windows, and, in a few places, licensing.

State	Status	The rule (plain-English)	Law / year
Oklahoma	Restrictive	A license is required to publicly market a wholesale deal	Predatory RE Wholesaler Prohibition Act (2021); SB 1075 (2025)
Illinois	Regulated	2+ wholesale deals in 12 months makes you a "broker" needing a license	225 ILCS 454 (2019 amendment)
Philadelphia, PA	Restrictive	Municipal wholesaler license + fair-value disclosure to owners	Phila. Code §9-5202 (2020)
Pennsylvania (state)	Regulated	Must disclose intent to assign the contract for a fee	Act 52 of 2024
South Carolina	Regulated	Wholesaling defined & restricted; licensed brokers barred from it	Act 204 / H4754 (2024)
Alabama	Regulated	Disclose wholesale intent to the seller; 3-day assignment notice	SB 228 (2023)
North Carolina	Regulated	Assigning your contract is fine; advertising the property is brokerage	NCREC license law
Michigan / Nevada	Regulated	Market contract rights only — not the property itself	State license law
Texas / Florida / Kansas	Permissive	Assign the contract with disclosure; the friendliest states	State occupations/brokerage code

This is a research summary, not legal advice. Wholesaling laws are changing quickly, and exact rules vary by county and city. Confirm the current requirement with your state real estate commission or a licensed attorney before you market a deal.

For the full state-by-state breakdown — including the underlying statutes — see Is Wholesaling Real Estate Legal? State-by-State (2026).

Methodology & Sources

We prioritized primary and authoritative data: the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Association of Realtors, ATTOM Data Solutions, Redfin, the ANA/DMA Response Rate Report, the Texas Real Estate Commission's government survey, and the largest available wholesaler surveys (Real Estate Bees, 1,000+ respondents). Figures that are practitioner estimates rather than measured data are labeled as such in the text. Housing-market numbers reflect the most recent full-year data available as of June 2026; we refresh this page as new reports publish. Every source is linked below.

Found this useful? The Wholesale REI tool directory compares the CRMs, dialers, skip-tracing, and data tools wholesalers use to act on the numbers above.