Market size
How much heirs’ property is there?
Two studies measure it in different ways, with different definitions and coverage. Each is shown in its own block, and their figures should not be added together.
Block A: parcels, acres and market value
Block A · Dobbs & Johnson Gaither (2023)
444,172 parcels; 9,247,452 acres
heirs’ parcels, and the acres they cover
Dobbs & Johnson Gaither (2023) · PDF p.12–13 (Table 2 totals; Results text) · parcel data: LightBox, supplied via USDA Forest Service, Nov 2021
Counts of parcels, all 50 states + DC; name-based identification; the authors say aggregated data may severely undercount.
$41.3 billion
total market value of identified heirs’ parcels
Dobbs & Johnson Gaither (2023) · PDF p.12–13 (Table 2 total, in $ thousands) · parcel data: LightBox, supplied via USDA Forest Service, Nov 2021
Counts of identified heirs’ parcels.
Market values were not populated for 8 states (CA, CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, SD, VT).
Block B: properties, share and assessed value
Block B · Housing Assistance Council for Fannie Mae (Dec 2023, corrected Mar 2024)
580,371
properties identified as heirs’ property, 0.6% of 94,201,062 residential properties
Housing Assistance Council for Fannie Mae (Dec 2023, corrected Mar 2024) · page 23
Counts of residential properties identified, 44 states + DC; excludes vacant land and farmland; a minimum estimate.
$32.3 billion
total assessed value of identified heirs’ properties
Housing Assistance Council for Fannie Mae (Dec 2023, corrected Mar 2024) · page 31 (also p.5)
Counts same 44 states + DC; a minimum estimate; some counties had no assessed values reported.
$84 trillion
HAC cites research estimating $84 trillion will transfer from Baby Boomers by 2045
Housing Assistance Council for Fannie Mae (Dec 2023, corrected Mar 2024) · page 8 (footnote 7)
Counts background statement citing other research; not a finding of this study.
Why these numbers are a floor
Each study describes its own count as a minimum or a likely undercount. Both leave things out: the Housing Assistance Council study omits some states and excludes vacant land and farmland, and the Dobbs and Johnson Gaither market values are missing for some states. Each block’s small print says exactly which.
“a lower bound on the actual number of such properties”
USDA ERS, Burnett & Winters-Michaud (2025) · page 629
About 5%
In Philadelphia, national name-search methods found about 5% of the tangled titles Pew found
City study · Our math · Derived from Dobbs & Johnson Gaither (2023), HAC for Fannie Mae (2023) and Pew (2021) · DJG PDF p.21; HAC p.37
Counts of Pew’s 10,407 Philadelphia tangled titles.
Workings: 471 (Dobbs & Johnson Gaither) and 619 (HAC) vs 10,407 (Pew).
New heirs’ property keeps forming
About 35%
(34.9%) of heirs’ parcels recorded in 2021 weren’t flagged as heirs’ property in 2015
USDA ERS, Burnett & Winters-Michaud (2025) · page 625–626 (Figure 2)
Counts of parcels flagged as heirs’ property in 2021, lower 48 states, CoreLogic flag.
CoreLogic flag; a lower bound; the change may reflect better assessor recording. Total heirs’ parcels fell about 1.1% from 2015 to 2021.
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