Lot 03 · High Equity Properties
High Equity Properties: How to Find Them
By FlipProperties Editorial TeamPublished September 8, 2026Updated October 20, 2026PropStream figures checked October 2026
An off-market property is one of these — this is the flip side of high-equity leads. Equity is the math that makes a deal work — it's the gap between what a home is worth and what the owner owes. PropStream lets you filter for properties with 50% or more equity, and filtering for equity before you spend on skip tracing is the single highest-ROI move in list building.
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Filter: equity ≥ 50%
The equity setting in PropStream
MLS data
Comps keep equity current
3 tiers
Moderate · High · Free and clear
What is a high-equity property?
A high-equity property is one where the owner owes significantly less than the property is worth. PropStream's High Equity list includes properties with 50% or more equity, less than a 50% loan-to-value ratio, or $100,000 or more in equity. If you want a different threshold, PropStream's equity filter lets you set your own floor — separate from the High Equity list. Either way, the equity percentage is the most important number on any lead you pull, because it's the room you have to negotiate.
The reason equity-first filtering is so powerful: a motivated seller with equity can sell at a discount. A motivated seller without equity can't — the lender gets paid before they do. Every dollar you spend skip tracing an underwater lead is wasted. Filter equity first, then stack the motivation signals.
Three equity tiers — each a different conversation
Moderate
30–50%
Worth a conversation
Enough equity to make a deal work at 65–70% ARV minus repairs. The volume tier.
High
50–80%
Deal-making territory
Plenty of room for your margin and a discount. The sweet spot for most wholesalers.
Free and clear
100%
No lender, no clock
Owner owns outright. Maximum flexibility on price, terms, and timeline.
Why equity drives motivated selling
Most of the lead categories on this site are motivation signals — pre-foreclosure, divorce, tired landlord. Equity is the capacity signal. Motivation tells you the owner might sell; equity tells you they can. When you stack the two, you're not prospecting — you're prioritizing.
The math is straightforward. At 65–70% of ARV minus repairs, a property with 30% equity is tight; at 50% equity it's comfortable; at 70%+ it's your margin to lose. Filtering for equity before you send mail or make calls isn't fancy — it's just arithmetic that saves you from spending outreach dollars on leads that can't close.
PropStream vs. PropertyRadar, Privy, and other data tools
Several platforms sell property and equity data — PropertyRadar, Privy, ListSource, and a crop of niche equity tools. They differ less in whether they show equity than in how much you can do with it once you have it. Some are pay-per-record; some estimate equity from an AVM without checking the actual mortgage; most are built for a single purpose. If equity is the filter you run first on every deal, you want a platform where you can stack equity with other filters and recheck it often, not a one-off lookup.
What you see
Data tools (PropertyRadar, Privy, ListSource)
Properties with equity data, often pay-per-record
PropStream
High-equity properties, filterable and exportable on a flat monthly fee
Equity source
Data tools (PropertyRadar, Privy, ListSource)
Varies — some estimate from AVM only
PropStream
PropStream's High Equity list, plus an equity filter you set yourself
Filtering
Data tools (PropertyRadar, Privy, ListSource)
Basic equity threshold
PropStream
Equity % plus 165+ stackable filters — absentee, hold length, distress, property type
Stacking
Data tools (PropertyRadar, Privy, ListSource)
Single-purpose equity tool
PropStream
Stack against PropStream's other lead lists, comps, and skip tracing in one place
Next step
Data tools (PropertyRadar, Privy, ListSource)
Buy records, export, mail
PropStream
Filter, stack, comp, and export — no per-record cost
Also includes
Data tools (PropertyRadar, Privy, ListSource)
Equity data only
PropStream
Comps, rehab calculator, and every other lead category
| Dimension | Data tools (PropertyRadar, Privy, ListSource) | PropStream |
|---|---|---|
| What you see | Properties with equity data, often pay-per-record | High-equity properties, filterable and exportable on a flat monthly fee |
| Equity source | Varies — some estimate from AVM only | PropStream's High Equity list, plus an equity filter you set yourself |
| Filtering | Basic equity threshold | Equity % plus 165+ stackable filters — absentee, hold length, distress, property type |
| Stacking | Single-purpose equity tool | Stack against PropStream's other lead lists, comps, and skip tracing in one place |
| Next step | Buy records, export, mail | Filter, stack, comp, and export — no per-record cost |
| Also includes | Equity data only | Comps, rehab calculator, and every other lead category |
If you need a single equity lookup on one property, a pay-per-record tool is fine. If equity is the first filter in your acquisition process — the number you run before every outreach dollar — a platform that keeps it current, lets you stack motivation signals on top, and includes comps is the better tool.
How to find high-equity properties in PropStream
PropStream's High Equity list gives you the filtered pool instantly; the real work is knowing which sub-filters to layer on top.
- 01
Pick your market.
Draw your county or ZIP. Start with one you know.
- 02
Select the High Equity lead type.
Set the threshold at 50% as your floor. This returns every property where the owner has meaningful room to sell.
- 03
Stack a motivation signal.
Layer in Absentee Owner, Length of Ownership (10+ years), or Pre-Foreclosure — equity alone is a capacity signal, not a motivation signal.
- 04
Export and prioritize.
Sort by equity percentage descending. The highest-equity leads get outreach first; they're your highest-margin deals.
The equity stack.
Equity alone gives you a big pool. Layer on motivation signals and it sharpens into a short list:
RESULT
Equity-rich, distant, long-hold owners — highest margin, highest probability.
Full walk-through: How to Analyze Equity in PropStream · How to Stack Lists in PropStream
Skip the filters — try this in PropStream AI Search
Paste this into AI Search and swap in your market:
“Find properties in [City, ST] with $100,000 or more in equity and an out-of-state owner.”
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How much equity is enough, and how do you check it?
Equity is a property's value minus everything owed against it. Data platforms estimate it from an estimated value and the loans recorded with the county, so treat any equity number as a starting point. Here's what each range usually means for an offer.
| Equity range | What it usually means for an offer |
|---|---|
| Negative (owes more than it's worth) | The owner can't sell without bringing cash to closing or getting a short sale approved. |
| 0–20% | After selling costs, little or nothing is left, so a discount offer rarely works. |
| 20–40% | Some room to negotiate if the owner's reason to sell is strong. |
| 40% or more | Enough room to sell below retail and still walk away with cash. |
| 100% (free and clear) | No mortgage at all, so the owner has the most flexibility, including seller financing. |
Before you make an offer, confirm the numbers. Check the recorded mortgages and liens on the county recorder's website, run your own comps for value, and have a title company run a title search before you close. Estimated equity can miss unrecorded refinances, credit-line draws and liens.
The highest-ROI filter you'll use
Of the 165+ filters in PropStream, the equity filter returns the most value for the least effort. It takes one click and tells you which leads have the room to close. Every other filter — absentee, pre-foreclosure, tired landlord, code violation — becomes more powerful when you know the equity is there. Run equity first, then stack the signals that match your strategy. Your skip-trace budget will go further, and your offer-to-close rate will climb.
Is the high-equity category worth working?
It's not just worth it — equity should be the first filter on every list you build, regardless of which lead type you're targeting. The high-equity pool gives you enormous volume, and the tier system (moderate → high → free and clear) lets you dial in your strategy. Pair it with absentee owners for the classic combo, or pre-foreclosures when you want motivated urgency stacked on top of deal capacity.
Related lead categories
LOT 02
Absentee Owners
Stack with equity for the classic combo.
LOT 01
Pre-Foreclosures
41M+ pre-foreclosure records (PropStream, cumulative). When equity meets distress, deals close fast.
LOT 13
Free and Clear
The 100% equity tier — no lender, maximum flexibility.
Related Guide
How to Analyze Equity in PropStream
Read estimated equity, and know when to double-check it.
Related Guide
County Property Records
Look up recorded mortgages and liens yourself.
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A property where the owner owes significantly less than the home is worth. The owner has room to sell below market and still walk away with cash. PropStream's High Equity list includes properties with 50% or more equity, less than a 50% loan-to-value ratio, or $100,000 or more in equity. You can also set your own equity floor with PropStream's equity filter, which is separate from the High Equity list.
In PropStream, pick your market and select High Equity as a lead list. To set your own threshold instead, use PropStream's equity filter — it is separate from the High Equity list, which locks in its own 50% equity, sub-50% LTV, or $100,000+ equity criteria. Stack either one with other signals — absentee ownership, length of ownership, and property type that matches your buy box.
A motivated seller with equity can sell at a discount. A motivated seller without equity can't — the lender gets paid first. Equity is the difference between a lead you can close and a short sale that drags for months. Filtering for equity before you spend on skip tracing and outreach is the single highest-ROI habit in list building.
50% is the High Equity list's floor — it covers most deal-making scenarios at 65–70% of ARV. For higher-margin strategies like fix-and-flip, push to 70%+. Free-and-clear properties (100%) offer the most flexibility on price and terms, since there's no lender to negotiate around.
It's not just worth it — equity should be the first filter on every list you build, regardless of which lead type you're targeting. The high-equity pool gives you enormous volume, and the tier system (moderate → high → free and clear) lets you dial in your strategy. Pair it with absentee owners for the classic combo, or pre-foreclosures when you want motivated urgency stacked on top of deal capacity.
They overlap but differ in scope. PropertyRadar and Privy both carry property and equity data; some plans are pay-per-record and they're often built around a specific workflow. PropStream carries high-equity properties on a flat monthly fee, and lets you stack the equity filter against 165+ others plus comps and skip tracing in one place. If you want a single lookup or a narrow tool, the specialists are fine. If equity is the first filter on every deal, pick the platform that lets you stack it with other filters and recheck it often, and verify the numbers before you make an offer.
Equity is the property's value minus everything owed against it: mortgages, home equity lines and any liens. If a home is worth $300,000 and the owner owes $180,000, the equity is $120,000, or 40%.
It's a useful screen, not a final number. Estimated equity comes from an estimated value and the loans recorded with the county, so it can miss unrecorded refinances, credit-line draws and liens, and it can't see the home's condition. Confirm it with county records, your own comps and a title search before you make an offer.
High equity means the owner owes little compared to the home's value. PropStream's High Equity list uses 50% or more equity, or $100,000 or more. Free and clear means there's no mortgage at all, so the owner holds 100% of the equity, although taxes, liens or judgments can still exist.