Data: AuctionScout county recap data for auctions through September 30, 2026, as of October 2026. Sale rate is sold over lots with a reported result.
Florida's foreclosure auction market has split in two, but not quite the way it usually gets described.
In Duval County (Jacksonville), about half the docket clears, at a median sold price of $102,100. In Miami-Dade, about a third clears, at a median of $269,250. Yet the median discount to est. market value is close in both: 39.6% in Duval and 37.0% in Miami-Dade. The divide is price point and clearance, not discount depth.
The Numbers: Duval vs. Miami-Dade
| Metric (12 months to Sep 30, 2026) | Duval County | Miami-Dade County |
|---|---|---|
| Lots listed | 1,253 | 2,415 |
| Sold | 637 | 818 |
| Sale rate | 51.2% | 34.3% |
| Sale rate since tracking began (Oct 2024) | 47.6% | 32.6% |
| Cancelled before the sale | 546 (43.6% of listed) | 1,486 (61.5% of listed) |
| Median sold price | $102,100 | $269,250 |
| Median below est. market value | 39.6% (n=407) | 37.0% (n=570) |
Est. market value is the value of a comparable home in normal condition. Auction properties sell as-is, so the gap is not a profit margin. "n" is the number of sales with an eligible estimate.
The directional story:
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Duval clears more of its docket. It sold 51.2% of the lots with a reported result over the 12 months, against 34.3% in Miami-Dade.
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Most of Miami-Dade's gap is cancellations, not unsold auctions. 61.5% of Miami-Dade's listed lots were cancelled before the sale, against 43.6% in Duval. A cancelled lot never reaches bidding, so it says more about the foreclosure cases than about buyer demand.
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Discount depth is similar. The two medians are less than three points apart. The real difference is how many dollars that discount is worth: the Miami-Dade median sale is more than two and a half times the Duval median.
A single week can look far more extreme. In the week of August 31, 2026, Duval sold 15 of the 31 lots with a reported result (48.4%) and Miami-Dade sold 11 of 39 (28.2%). One week of 30 to 40 lots is too few sales for a reliable discount median, which is why this guide uses full quarters and 12-month figures.
How the Two Markets Moved This Year
| Quarter | Duval sale rate | Duval median price | Duval median discount | Miami-Dade sale rate | Miami-Dade median price | Miami-Dade median discount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | 52.0% | $104,100 | 40.7% (n=80) | 35.8% | $300,100 | 34.6% (n=128) |
| Q1 2026 | 52.8% | $91,850 | 37.4% (n=87) | 32.1% | $312,650 | 35.3% (n=138) |
| Q2 2026 | 46.8% | $104,100 | 38.8% (n=88) | 31.0% | $258,100 | 35.1% (n=124) |
| Q3 2026 | 53.2% | $115,054 | 40.4% (n=152) | 38.9% | $206,000 | 40.6% (n=180) |
Duval County: Steady Clearance at Accessible Prices
Duval's sale rate stayed between 46.8% and 53.2% in each of the last four quarters, and its median sold price stayed between roughly $92,000 and $115,000. You're not writing six-figure-plus checks just to get in the door, and about half of the lots that reach a result sell.
The Jacksonville metro supports this. It's Florida's largest city by area, with a growing population, a diversifying economy (financial services, defense, logistics), and rental demand that doesn't depend entirely on tourism cycles. Investors looking for buy-and-hold rentals or fix-and-flip operations have an active end market.
Miami-Dade: Higher Stakes per Deal
Miami-Dade's auction market hasn't collapsed. In Q3 2026 its sale rate (38.9%) was the highest of the four quarters, its median sold price ($206,000) was the lowest, and its median discount (40.6%) was the deepest. Over the 12 months, its monthly sale rate ranged from 27.4% (April 2026) to 43.4% (September 2026).
The price point is still the problem for most investors. At a median of $269,250 over the 12 months, a similar percentage discount means far more capital at risk per deal, and you still need to add carrying costs, rehab, and margin.
The Framework: Three Metrics That Tell the Story
When evaluating any Florida county auction market, a three-point framework helps:
1. Current Sale Rate vs. Historical Sale Rate Is the market clearing above or below its own norm? Check whether a change comes from lots that got no bid or from cancellations before the sale.
2. Current Discount vs. Historical Discount Are properties selling cheaper or more expensive than usual? Deeper than usual means more room for error; shallower means compressed margins.
3. Volume How many properties are behind the numbers? Low volume can inflate metrics: a single unusual sale moves a 5-property week significantly. Use a quarter or more before you read anything into a discount.
Applied to Q3 2026 (July to September), against each county's full tracking history (October 2024 to September 2026):
| County | Q3 2026 sale rate | Since Oct 2024 | Q3 2026 median discount | Since Oct 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duval | 53.2% | 47.6% | 40.4% (n=152) | 41.5% (n=643) |
| Hillsborough | 46.9% | 36.8% | 37.5% (n=156) | 43.1% (n=596) |
| Pinellas | 45.2% | 40.0% | 44.5% (n=92) | 44.0% (n=381) |
| Lee | 53.0% | 43.8% | 46.3% (n=141) | 40.5% (n=440) |
| Miami-Dade | 38.9% | 32.6% | 40.6% (n=180) | 35.1% (n=1,029) |
All five counties cleared more of their docket in Q3 2026 than over their full history. Discounts moved in different directions: Lee and Miami-Dade ran deeper than their history, Hillsborough shallower, Duval and Pinellas about the same. South Florida is not the outlier on these numbers.
What This Means for Your County Strategy
If you're deploying capital in Florida foreclosure auctions in Q4 2026, the data makes a narrower case than "one county good, one county bad":
Duval suits investors who want steady clearance at lower prices. Steady sale rates, a median sold price around $100,000, and a solid underlying rental market make it a practical place to build a pipeline.
Miami-Dade requires a different underwriting model. At a $269,250 median, you need very specific deal criteria to make the math work: distressed properties with significant rehab discount, or specific micro-neighborhoods where rental yields support the entry price.
We can't tell you whether buyers are moving between the two. AuctionScout doesn't see who's bidding, so the data can't show Miami buyers showing up in Jacksonville. What it does show is both markets clearing more of their docket in Q3 2026 than over their history.
Tracking the Data
AuctionScout publishes auction results for Duval County, Miami-Dade, and all tracked FL counties at the individual county recap pages. The trend charts let you see whether a county is improving or deteriorating relative to its own history, which is the comparison that matters most.
If you're allocating to Florida, check the charts before you bid. The county you assumed was your best market may not be the best market anymore.
→ Track Duval County weekly auction results: auctionscout.app/recap/fl/duval-county
→ Compare Florida counties: auctionscout.app/recap/florida
Data sourced from AuctionScout county recap data for auctions through September 30, 2026, as of October 2026. Full tracking history runs from October 2024. Sale rate is sold over lots with a reported result; discounts are medians vs est. market value.