PropertyOnion Market Research | September 2026 | Florida tax deed auctions
PropertyOnion analyzed 1,886 Florida tax deed auction records with sold or canceled outcomes for September 2026, alongside 1,827 records from September 2025. The analysis is limited to Florida records: the source CSV files also include other states, which were excluded. Tax deed auctions are not mortgage foreclosure auctions or tax lien certificate auctions.
Executive summary
PropertyOnion recorded 587 completed Florida tax deed auction sales in September 2026, down from 672 in September 2025 (-12.6%). Third-party wins decreased from 596 to 536 (-10.1%). The number of recorded auctions grew slightly, from 1,827 to 1,886 (+3.2%), but cancellations increased from 1,155 to 1,299 (+12.5%).
The largest reported reason for September 2026 cancellation was “Redeemed By Owner” (1,128 records). That reason represents 86.8% of September 2026 cancellations. The September 2025 export does not contain usable cancellation-reason classifications, so we do not compare redemption reasons year over year.
Across the 33 Florida counties represented in both years, completed tax deed sales fell from 643 to 511 (-20.5%). This same-county comparison is useful because the full 2025 and 2026 exports cover different counties. However, it remains a comparison of reported records, not a verified statewide census.
Key findings at a glance
Source: PropertyOnion.com. Tax deed data only. Apparent discounts exclude title, surviving encumbrances, acquisition costs and other risks.
September 2026 Florida tax deed auction outcomes
| Auction outcome | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Sold | 587 | 31.1% |
| Canceled | 1,299 | 68.9% |
| Total | 1,886 | 100.0% |
Approximately 31.1% of September 2026 Florida tax deed auction records were marked sold, while 68.9% were canceled. These percentages describe reported auction outcomes, not the likelihood that any specific property will sell. A canceled auction may be redeemed, postponed, or otherwise resolved; a canceled tax deed sale is not a completed purchase.
Third-party purchases versus certificate-holder wins
| Winning party | Sold records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Third-party purchaser | 536 | 91.3% |
| Certificate holder | 50 | 8.5% |
| Winner not identified | 1 | 0.2% |
| Total | 587 | 100.0% |
Third-party bidders accounted for 536 of 587 reported Florida tax deed sales (91.3%) in September 2026. Another 50 sales were classified as “Plaintiff” in the original PropertyOnion export; for tax deed reporting, we label that category “Certificate Holder”. One sold record had no identified winner and is excluded from the two-bar winning-party graphic.
In a Florida tax deed sale, the tax certificate holder may receive the property when no higher bid is made, subject to statutory payments and deed issuance. A source-system “Plaintiff” classification is not independent verification that the deed was issued, that the successful bidder was the original certificate holder, or that the property was ultimately transferred. See Florida Statutes, section 197.542.
Where Florida tax deed auction activity was concentrated
County auction outcomes
| County | Total records | Sold | Canceled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Putnam | 212 | 110 | 102 |
| Lee | 204 | 27 | 177 |
| Duval | 185 | 27 | 158 |
| Marion | 148 | 106 | 42 |
| Charlotte | 148 | 45 | 103 |
| Highlands | 93 | 63 | 30 |
| Volusia | 87 | 16 | 71 |
| Escambia | 80 | 11 | 69 |
| Brevard | 64 | 24 | 40 |
| Orange | 55 | 3 | 52 |
| Manatee | 50 | 1 | 49 |
| Palm Beach | 49 | 5 | 44 |
County winning-party breakdown
| County | Third-party wins | Certificate-holder wins |
|---|---|---|
| Putnam | 76 | 34 |
| Lee | 27 | 0 |
| Duval | 26 | 1 |
| Marion | 105 | 1 |
| Charlotte | 45 | 0 |
| Highlands | 60 | 3 |
| Volusia | 16 | 0 |
| Escambia | 11 | 0 |
| Brevard | 24 | 0 |
| Orange | 3 | 0 |
| Manatee | 1 | 0 |
| Palm Beach | 4 | 1 |
Putnam, Lee, Duval, Charlotte, and Marion generated the greatest September 2026 tax deed auction volumes in the dataset. County rankings must be interpreted alongside actual sales and cancellations: auction calendar volume alone does not establish available investment opportunities.
September 2025 versus September 2026: year-over-year tax deed activity
| Metric | Sept. 2025 | Sept. 2026 | YoY change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auction records | 1,827 | 1,886 | +3.2% |
| Sold | 672 | 587 | -12.6% |
| Canceled | 1,155 | 1,299 | +12.5% |
| Third-party wins | 596 | 536 | -10.1% |
| Certificate-holder classifications | 76 | 50 | -34.2% |
The total number of reported Florida tax deed auction records increased 3.2% year over year. However, reported completed sales declined 12.6%, third-party wins declined 10.1%, and cancellations rose 12.5%. Those movements should not be characterized as a statewide market trend without considering differences in county coverage and source completeness.
Sold and canceled outcome rates
The reported sale rate decreased from 36.8% to 31.1%. Conversely, the cancellation rate increased from 63.2% to 68.9%. This illustrates why counting scheduled tax deed auctions without separating redeemed and canceled cases can materially overstate the number of purchases available to investors.
A more comparable view: 33 counties represented in both years
| Same-county metric | Sept. 2025 | Sept. 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auction records | 1,662 | 1,769 | +6.4% |
| Sold | 643 | 511 | -20.5% |
| Canceled | 1,019 | 1,258 | +23.5% |
| Third-party wins | 567 | 464 | -18.2% |
| Certificate-holder wins | 76 | 46 | -39.5% |
Using only the 33 counties present in both exports, reported completed tax deed sales dropped from 643 to 511 and third-party wins fell from 567 to 464. These decreases are more pronounced than the unadjusted statewide-export comparison. County matching reduces one source of comparison bias, but it does not correct for county-specific changes in collection completeness or auction activity.
County-level comparison
| County | Sept. 2025 | Sept. 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alachua | 4 | 9 | +125.0% |
| Baker | – | 1 | N/A |
| Bay | 52 | 25 | -51.9% |
| Brevard | 100 | 64 | -36.0% |
| Broward | 39 | – | N/A |
| Charlotte | 100 | 148 | +48.0% |
| Citrus | 30 | 18 | -40.0% |
| Clay | 15 | 24 | +60.0% |
| Collier | 6 | 16 | +166.7% |
| Duval | 169 | 185 | +9.5% |
| Escambia | 78 | 80 | +2.6% |
| Flagler | 1 | 3 | +200.0% |
| Gilchrist | – | 3 | N/A |
| Hendry | 30 | – | N/A |
| Hernando | 34 | 29 | -14.7% |
| Highlands | – | 93 | N/A |
| Hillsborough | 40 | 41 | +2.5% |
| Indian River | 11 | – | N/A |
| Jackson | 1 | 45 | +4400.0% |
| Lake | 7 | – | N/A |
| Lee | 148 | 204 | +37.8% |
| Leon | 29 | 44 | +51.7% |
| Manatee | 50 | 50 | +0.0% |
| Marion | 43 | 148 | +244.2% |
| Miami Dade | 7 | 13 | +85.7% |
| Nassau | 6 | 4 | -33.3% |
| Okaloosa | 72 | – | N/A |
| Okeechobee | 1 | 29 | +2800.0% |
| Orange | 18 | 55 | +205.6% |
| Osceola | 66 | 22 | -66.7% |
| Palm Beach | 49 | 49 | +0.0% |
| Pasco | 26 | 27 | +3.8% |
| Polk | 56 | 32 | -42.9% |
| Putnam | 311 | 212 | -31.8% |
| Santa Rosa | 6 | – | N/A |
| Sarasota | 28 | 2 | -92.9% |
| Seminole | 8 | 13 | +62.5% |
| St. Johns | 25 | 24 | -4.0% |
| St. Lucie | 40 | 23 | -42.5% |
| Suwannee | – | 20 | N/A |
| Volusia | 94 | 87 | -7.4% |
| Walton | 18 | 15 | -16.7% |
| Washington | 9 | 29 | +222.2% |
The September 2025 Florida tax deed export contains records from 39 named counties, while September 2026 contains records from 37. Of those, 33 appear in both. A county missing from an export is not proof that the county had no tax deed auctions or that PropertyOnion lacks coverage there. Differences may result from export filters or data completeness.
Why September 2026 tax deed auctions were canceled
| Cancellation reason | Records |
|---|---|
| Redeemed By Owner | 1,128 |
| Reason Not Provided | 99 |
| Postponed / Rescheduled | 33 |
| Canceled By County | 24 |
| Bankruptcy Filed | 12 |
| Other reported reasons | 3 |
| Total canceled | 1,299 |
The “Redeemed By Owner” code accounted for 1,128 cancellations, or 86.8% of the September 2026 canceled tax deed records. Redemption generally means the delinquency was satisfied through the applicable redemption process rather than the scheduled tax deed auction proceeding to sale. This interpretation is based on the export label; the report does not independently verify each redemption.
2025 data limitation: Every September 2025 Florida tax deed record has a dash in the “Cancel Reason” field. We therefore do not claim that redemptions increased or decreased year over year.
What types of properties sold at tax deed auctions?
| Reported property type | Completed sales | Share of sales |
|---|---|---|
| Land | 482 | 82.1% |
| Single family | 57 | 9.7% |
| Mobile | 34 | 5.8% |
| Condominium | 7 | 1.2% |
| Other property types | 7 | 1.2% |
Land accounted for 482 of the 587 sold tax deed auction records (82.1%). This property mix is central to interpreting winning bid prices. A low statewide median winning bid often reflects a large number of land parcels, not the typical purchase price of a house. The “Land” field is a data classification and should not be assumed to confirm the absence of structures or improvements.
What did third-party investors pay at Florida tax deed auctions?
| Property type | 2025 third-party wins | 2025 median bid |
|---|---|---|
| Land | 525 | $4,400 |
| Single family | 40 | $66,700 |
| Mobile | 20 | $33,450 |
| Property type | 2026 third-party wins | 2026 median bid |
|---|---|---|
| Land | 434 | $7,100 |
| Single family | 56 | $39,100 |
| Mobile | 33 | $26,200 |
The median third-party winning bid in September 2026 was $8,450 across all 536 reported third-party tax deed purchases, compared with $5,250 in September 2025. These are not equivalent to typical residential home prices. In September 2026, the median winning bid was $7,100 for properties classified as Land and $39,100 for Single Family properties. They are reported auction bid amounts, not confirmed resale prices or realizable property values.
How did tax deed winning bids compare with estimated property values?
For each qualifying third-party purchase, PropertyOnion used PropertyOnion Value (POV) when greater than zero. If POV was missing or zero, we used County Market Value. We included only third-party sold tax deed records with a positive winning bid and a positive estimate. The reported difference is an apparent discount to an estimated value, not verified equity or profit.
| Third-party purchases | September 2025 | September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| All third-party wins | 596 | 536 |
| Eligible with valid valuation and positive bid | 347 | 480 |
| Used POV | 61 | 86 |
| Used County Market Value fallback | 286 | 394 |
| Median estimated value of qualifying records | $4,040 | $11,900 |
| Median winning bid of qualifying records | $3,800 | $8,400 |
| Median apparent discount, calculated per property | 20.8% | 32.1% |
| Winning bids below estimated value | 272 of 347 (78.4%) | 380 of 480 (79.2%) |
In September 2026, the median property-level apparent discount was 32.1% across 480 qualifying third-party tax deed purchases, compared with 20.8% across 347 qualifying September 2025 purchases. The discount is calculated separately as (estimated value minus winning bid) divided by estimated value, then the median of those property-level percentages is reported. It is not calculated from the two statewide median dollar figures.
Important valuation limitation: Most qualifying tax deed records used County Market Value rather than POV: 394 of 480 in September 2026 and 286 of 347 in September 2025. County assessments and market-value fields may not reflect the amount a buyer can actually realize, particularly for vacant lots, small parcels, restricted or inaccessible properties. Also, the proportion of third-party purchases with valid valuations differs significantly between the two years, so the apparent-discount comparison should not be taken as evidence that Florida tax deed bargains improved statewide.
Distribution of September 2026 apparent bid discounts
| Winning bid relative to estimated value | Purchases |
|---|---|
| At or above estimated value | 100 |
| Below by more than 0% and less than 20% | 64 |
| Below by 20% to less than 40% | 117 |
| Below by 40% to less than 60% | 110 |
| Below by 60% or more | 89 |
| Total qualifying purchases | 480 |
Of the 480 qualifying third-party purchases, 380 had a positive apparent discount to estimated value and 100 were at or above their estimated value. These results are descriptive statistics and do not establish that any buyer acquired clean title or profitable real estate.
Important investor risks: tax deed winning bids are not net equity
Investor risk disclosure: Florida tax deed sales differ from mortgage foreclosure auctions. A tax deed may extinguish certain interests under Florida law, but some recorded governmental liens, certain easements, restrictions, and other interests can survive. Investors may also encounter defective or disputed title, ownership and notice issues, unpaid assessments where legally applicable, land-use or access restrictions, environmental conditions, occupancy, property condition, legal fees, and the cost of making title insurable or marketable. The treatment of any interest depends on the facts and applicable law. A successful bidder should investigate the chain of title, official records, tax deed proceedings, zoning, condition, and legal obligations before bidding.
The estimated-value comparisons do not subtract these possible liabilities or transaction expenses. A winning bid that looks far below the estimated value may still produce little or no realizable equity. For statutory context, see Florida Statutes 197.552 (tax deeds and surviving governmental liens), 197.572 (certain easements), and 197.573 (certain restrictions and covenants). This report is not legal or investment advice.
What happens when a certificate holder wins the tax deed auction?
Florida Statutes 197.542 generally provide that when no higher bids are received at a tax deed sale, the property may be struck off to the certificate holder, subject to required payments, deadlines, and deed issuance. If the certificate holder does not make required payments, the property may instead be placed on the “lands available for taxes” list. Thus, a reported certificate-holder win should not automatically be presented as a completed deed transfer. Unlike a bank “taking back” a mortgage foreclosure property as REO, a tax deed certificate holder is exercising rights associated with a delinquent-tax certificate.
What September tax deed results mean for Florida investors
Fewer reported properties reached sale. The dataset contains more September 2026 records than September 2025, but fewer completed sales. Investors relying only on published calendars may overestimate the number of opportunities that actually reach closing.
Redemptions are a defining feature of the 2026 data. The 1,128 “Redeemed By Owner” cancellations highlight why investors should check county auction statuses close to the sale date. These counts are classifications from PropertyOnion exports, not a count of all redeemed tax certificates statewide.
Land dominates winning bids. Most sold tax deed records are classified as Land, helping explain low median winning bids. Property type, location, access, and marketability need to be evaluated separately before drawing conclusions about bargains.
Apparent discounts demand extra caution. The valuation comparison suggests winning bids below estimated values for many qualifying purchases, but cannot show net equity, marketability, or investment return. The change in available valuation data between 2025 and 2026 also limits year-over-year conclusions.
Frequently asked questions about September 2026 Florida tax deed auctions
How many tax deed auctions sold in Florida in September 2026?
PropertyOnion recorded 587 sold Florida tax deed auction records in the September 2026 export and 1,299 cancellations. The data reflects the included Florida counties and is not an official statewide census.
How many Florida tax deed sales did third-party bidders win?
Third-party purchasers won 536 of the 587 reported tax deed sales (91.3%). Fifty were classified as certificate-holder wins and one had no identified winner.
Why were so many tax deed auctions canceled?
The most frequent recorded cancellation reason for September 2026 was “Redeemed By Owner,” with 1,128 records. Redemption can prevent a scheduled tax deed sale from proceeding. Other records cite rescheduling, county cancellations, bankruptcy, or an unspecified reason.
Do tax deed winning bids show that investors bought at a 32.1% discount?
No. The 32.1% figure is the median apparent difference between reported winning bids and PropertyOnion estimated values among 480 qualifying third-party purchases. It is not a verified discount to realizable market value, investment return, or equity calculation.
Is a Florida tax deed auction the same as a county foreclosure auction?
No. Tax deed auctions generally involve delinquent property taxes and tax certificates; mortgage foreclosure auctions generally involve court foreclosure of a mortgage or other lien. The bidding, title effects, and types of surviving interests can differ. PropertyOnion reports their statistics separately.
Research methodology and limitations
Research publisher: PropertyOnion.com. Reporting periods: September 1 through 30, 2025 and September 1 through 30, 2026. Source: two PropertyOnion CSV auction exports. Scope: Florida rows with Listing Type “Tax Deed” only. The CSVs also contain other states, which are excluded. Mortgage foreclosures and tax lien certificate auctions are excluded. Included outcomes: Sold and Canceled only. Neither filtered Florida export contains pending outcomes.
Coverage: 39 named counties in the 2025 Florida tax deed export and 37 in the 2026 export, with 33 counties common to both. A county absent from an export should not be interpreted as evidence of no tax deed activity or unsupported PropertyOnion coverage. Unit: auction records, not a guaranteed count of distinct properties or issued deeds. Winner classifications reflect the original source codes; the tax deed “Plaintiff” code is presented as “Certificate Holder” for readability but has not been independently verified against all county deed issuance records.
Valuation methodology: POV when positive; otherwise positive County Market Value. Only third-party sold auction records with positive bid and positive valuation are included. Apparent discount is calculated at the property level and summarized using the median. Estimated values are not appraisals and may be unreliable for tax deed parcels. No liens or acquisition costs are deducted. Qualifying valuation coverage differs between years. Cancellation reasons: detailed classifications were available in the 2026 export, but not in the 2025 export; therefore no year-over-year redemption comparison is reported.
Important: Outcomes can be corrected or updated after extraction; classifications, county coverage, and property values may be incomplete or inaccurate. PropertyOnion does not claim the exports represent every Florida tax deed auction or every property deeded during either month. Readers should verify individual properties in official county records before bidding.
About PropertyOnion Market Research
PropertyOnion.com publishes original research on county foreclosure auctions, tax deed sales, and tax lien activity to help real estate investors understand the marketplace. PropertyOnion maintains auction records and publishes summary statistics with transparent methodology and limitations. When quoting this report, please credit PropertyOnion.com and link to the original research article.
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