I recently had this interesting question come up during one of our Inner Circle coaching calls.
Eduardo asked me:
“Generally, what considerations should inform the selection of a market to start with wholesaling? How do these change for crushing the competition with vacant houses?”
I love this question. It’s one I hear variations of all the time from investors just getting started.
Many times, new investors get caught in a trap of their own making — they believe certain markets are “too competitive,” “too expensive,” or “too something else” to make wholesaling work.
But here’s the reality bomb I’m dropping today:
Wholesaling works in literally ANY market where there are houses.
“Full stop,” as the saying goes.
Let me quickly break down why this is true…
Start Where You Stand (Even If You Think It Won’t Work)
The first market you should consider is the one you’re already in. Yep, I’m talking about your local market — the one right outside your front door.
Things I hear when I say this:
- “But Cam, my area is too competitive!”
- “But Cam, houses are too expensive here!”
- “But Cam, everyone says you can only wholesale in cheap markets!”
Look, I get these objections all day long and have basically my entire career…
And you know what?
They’re almost always based on untested assumptions.
Here’s the truth: You won’t know if your assumptions about your local market are correct until you get out there and start making offers.
I’ve had students in San Francisco, New York City, and other “impossible” markets crush it with wholesaling, while others complained the market was “too hot” or “too expensive.”
The difference?
The successful ones weren’t paralyzed by untested assumptions. They were too busy making offers.
Think of analyzing a market without making offers like trying to learn swimming by reading books about water. At some point, you’ve gotta get wet! (And trust me, I’ve spent enough time on boats to know that reading about water and being in it are two very different experiences.)
My Technical vs. Fundamental Market Selection Framework
When choosing markets, I like to break considerations into 2 categories:
1: Technical Factors
These are the data-driven elements that can make a market attractive:
- Job growth statistics
- Economic development (new factories, businesses moving in)
- Population growth trends
- Housing inventory levels
- Cash buyer activity
For example, let’s say there’s a new BMW plant going up in Huntsville, Alabama, that’s creating 3,000 jobs.
To me, that’s a pretty compelling technical reason to look at that market.
2: Fundamental Factors
These are the more personal elements that might make a market attractive to YOU:
- Family connections (“My mom lives there.”)
- Lifestyle preferences (“I love to ski there.”)
- Personal history (“I went to school there.”)
- Travel preferences (“It’s within a 2-hour drive.”)
So, years ago, I moved to Florida from Connecticut.
Want to know the sophisticated market analysis I did?
My mom lived there!
That was it. End of decision process.
Yes, I could have chosen 1,000 different places in Florida, but I went where I had a family connection.
In other words, sometimes the best business decisions aren’t the ones that look best on paper — they’re the ones you’ll actually follow through on because they fit your life.
Finding the Sweet Spot: The Heat Map Strategy
Here’s where we get tactical…
Let’s say you’ve narrowed down to a couple potential markets.
Now what?
The real secret to market selection is finding areas with the perfect overlap of opportunity and demand. I call this the “Heat Map Strategy” because it’s all about identifying hot zones where deals are waiting to be done.
In my live trainings and mentorship program, I show students how to use our specialized data feeds with visual heat maps that identify concentrations of both motivated sellers and active cash buyers. These tools visually present this data like a weather map — red for intense activity, yellow for moderate, and green for light.
It’s called the Real Estate Data Feed and it’s like having a treasure map showing you exactly where to focus and right now you can get access to this tool for free for the next 7 days by going here!
But even if you don’t have access to these specialized tools yet, you can still apply this same strategy using publicly available data sources:
- County records can show foreclosure filings by neighborhood.
- Tax records often reveal properties with delinquencies.
- Local real estate agents can provide neighborhood-specific sales data.
- County records can show cash purchases
Unfortunately, any of this will consume a ton of your time so access to the data feed is way better.
The key is looking for the overlap between 2 critical factors:
Areas with high motivated seller concentration + high cash buyer activity
= wholesaling sweet spots
Check this out…
One of my students in Phoenix was struggling to find deals until he applied this strategy and discovered that while the overall city seemed competitive, there was a pocket in the northeast with tons of motivated sellers but relatively few active investors.
And 6 weeks later, he had his first 2 deals under contract.
The real conversation with that student went something like this:
Him: “Cam, I’ve been spinning my wheels for months. Nothing’s working.”
Me: “Let’s look at your market selection. Show me where you’re making offers.”
Him: “All over Phoenix — I’m casting a wide net.”
Me: “That’s your problem right there. You need to narrow your focus to specific neighborhoods with high motivation and active buyers. Focus there, not the entire metro area.”
Then 3 weeks later…
Him: “Cam! I got my first deal under contract! There was this pocket of pre-foreclosures that nobody was touching!”
Me: **HIGH-FIVES AWESOME, TEACHABLE STUDENT.**
Look, whether you use advanced data tools or good old-fashioned research, the principle under the hood is the same — stop trying to operate across an entire market and zero in on those sweet spots where motivation and buying power intersect.
Avoid the “spray and pray” approach.
The “Houses Are Too Expensive” Myth: BUSTED
Perhaps the biggest, most persistent myth in wholesaling is that it only works in cheap housing markets.
Complete and utter hogwash!
This business works in ANY area where there are houses. I’ve had students wholesale multimillion dollar properties in Beverly Hills with the exact same process they’d use on a $120,000 property in Ohio.
The beauty of higher-priced markets is that while your marketing costs stay relatively the same, your profit margins typically expand. If a typical wholesale profit is 5%-10% of the purchase price, would you rather have 10% of $100,000 or 10% of $500,000?
I’m no math genius, but I can tell you which one I’d prefer! (That’s why it always amuses me when investors avoid “expensive” markets. It’s like avoiding restaurants that serve bigger portions for the same price.Think leftovers!)
Tool of the Trade: City-Data.com
Before diving into any market, spend some time on City-Data.com.
If you’ve never been there, it’s this really incredible resource fed by census data and financial info, like:
- Median housing prices
- Income levels
- Rent trends
- Population demographics
- Crime statistics
It’s basically a one-stop shop for getting a quick snapshot of any market you’re considering.
I’ve used it for decades, and it continues to be one of my go-to resources.
Final Thoughts: This Ain’t a Dress Rehearsal
We’re only granted a limited amount of time and energy in this life. Why not spend it in places you actually want to be?
Yes, the numbers need to work. Yes, you need to do your homework.
But at the end of the day, if you’re going to be visiting a market periodically to do deals, shouldn’t it be somewhere you enjoy being?
A good friend once told me, “Cam, you’ve been doing this so long, you have the luxury of deciding based on fundamentals — you go where you want to be.”
My response?
“Sure, why not? This business works anywhere. And this ain’t a dress rehearsal!”
So get out there and start making offers in a market that makes sense for YOU — whether that’s your backyard or across the country. Because the only way you’ll ever know if a market works is by testing it with actual offers.
Regards,
Cam Dunlap