4 Signs a High-Equity Homeowner May Consider Selling

Important Note: PropStream does not offer legal advice. Before contacting high-equity leads, we recommend doing your own research and/or consulting with a legal professional.

As a listing agent, knowing when homeowners are thinking about selling is a huge advantage. It helps you offer your listing services at the very moment they’re needed most. 

One way to identify homeowners considering a sale is by researching their equity levels. All else equal, higher equity tends to increase selling motivation because it means fewer potential complications from lender approvals and more to gain in sale proceeds.

But high equity alone doesn’t guarantee selling interest. To narrow in on high-equity homeowners with the most potential selling motivation, look for the following:

1. Financial and Market Triggers

Selling a high-equity home becomes especially advantageous when the homeowner’s financial situation or the market aligns to support their decision.

For example, a homeowner whose property tax rate recently increased may be more motivated to sell to avoid paying the government more. Similarly, if the housing market is hot, a homeowner may be more willing to sell to capture their equity gains.

2. Property-Related Signals

Sometimes a homeowner outgrows a property, or it just no longer suits them. This, too, can make selling more attractive.

For instance, empty nesters may want to downsize to a smaller home that’s easier to manage. Conversely, a growing family may want to upgrade to a larger home. If the property requires significant repairs that the owners don’t want to handle, this too could be a motivation to sell.

3. Personal and Life Events

Another reason high-equity homeowners may consider selling is a major life change or event. 

For example, a recently retired homeowner who’s no longer tied to their work location may want to sell so they can move elsewhere. The same goes for homeowners who’ve experienced a major accident or health issue. They may want to move closer to family for the extra support. 

Similarly, a recently divorced or separated spouse may need to sell to split the home’s value fairly or to get a fresh start in a new home.

Pro Tip: PropStream’s Divorce Lead List can filter out homes in your market where the homeowner has a divorce filing. 

4. Other Investment Opportunities

Some high-equity homeowners view their property as a major asset and want to liquidate it to diversify into other investments, such as stocks, rental property, and business ventures. This is especially true if they have high equity and believe other investments offer better returns. 

Think of it like this: Why let your equity sit dormant in your home when you could be using it to generate a return on investment (ROI)?

Using PropStream to Find Motivated High-Equity Leads

Fortunately, there’s an easy way to find homeowners with high equity: PropStream it!

PropStream is an aggregated real estate database with information on over 160 million properties. Simply type in your market and apply the High Equity filter to see which homeowners have at least 50% or $100,000 in equity. 

Next, you can stack additional filters to narrow in on homeowners with the highest potential selling motivation. These include filters like Divorce, Senior Owners, and Tax Delinquency. 

From there, you can save your leads, skip trace their contact information, and launch a marketing campaign.* PropStream lets you run email, postcard, and dialing campaigns from within the platform, so you can streamline your marketing workflow. 

5 Tips for Contacting High-Equity Homeowners

Now that you know how to identify high-equity owners who may be interested in selling, here are some best practices for contacting them:

Lead with Value

Don’t pitch your services right away. Instead, try to be helpful. For example, you could share local market data to help the prospect understand the value of their home. Only once you’ve demonstrated your credibility and desire to help should you offer your listing services.

Personalize Your Outreach

Tailor your outreach to each prospect. For instance, a recently retired homeowner may need a different message than someone facing a property tax increase. Learn as much as you can about the homeowner so you can enter conversations prepared. 

Emphasize Control and Flexibility

High-equity homeowners have options. Frame your value as giving them control over the timing, price, and terms of a sale. Don’t push them into a quick sale just to get a commission. Put their interests first and show them that their strong equity position allows them to be selective.

Respect Their Timeline

A high-equity homeowner may not be ready to sell right away. That’s okay. Build a relationship with them anyway, so that when they’re ready to sell, you’ll be top of mind. You never know when your initial contact will pay off.

Address Their Specific Concerns

If you’re talking to empty nesters, emphasize the benefits of downsizing. If you’re talking to investors, discuss portfolio optimization. If you’re talking to retirees, talk about proximity to family. You get the idea. Match your message to their unique selling motivation. 

Try PropStream for Free

Ready to find your next high-equity homeowner lead? 

Try PropStream by starting your free trial today! You’ll get instant access to the platform’s real estate database and search filters, including high equity. 

Your next deal could be right around the corner!

*PropStream engages an independent third-party to perform skip tracing.