Data updated August 27, 2026 · All 58 Counties
California Absentee Owner List
As of August 27, 2026, California has 3,503,514 absentee-owner residential properties on record across all 58 counties.
An absentee owner holds a property they don't occupy — landlords, heirs who inherited a house they'll never live in, second-home owners, and investors who moved their money out of state. The assessment roll records owner-occupancy status for every parcel, and Properant carries it statewide: this list is every California residential property whose records say the owner lives somewhere else. Absentee owners sell differently than occupants — the property is an asset, not a home — which is why absentee lists have been the backbone of investor direct mail for decades. 111,753 of these are multi-unit properties held over fifteen years — the classic tired-landlord profile.
Top California Counties
| # | County | Count | Share of Statewide |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles County | 674,716 | 19.3% |
| 2 | Orange County | 324,560 | 9.3% |
| 3 | San Diego County | 284,051 | 8.1% |
| 4 | Riverside County | 276,508 | 7.9% |
| 5 | San Bernardino County | 220,520 | 6.3% |
| 6 | Santa Clara County | 130,248 | 3.7% |
| 7 | Alameda County | 123,967 | 3.5% |
| 8 | Sacramento County | 120,463 | 3.4% |
| 9 | Contra Costa County | 102,206 | 2.9% |
| 10 | Kern County | 84,074 | 2.4% |
| 11 | Fresno County | 81,536 | 2.3% |
| 12 | El Dorado County | 75,359 | 2.2% |
| 13 | Ventura County | 65,387 | 1.9% |
| 14 | Placer County | 65,300 | 1.9% |
| 15 | San Joaquin County | 61,952 | 1.8% |
What's on Every Property Record
Every record pairs the property with the owner's actual mailing address — the whole point of an absentee list — plus corporate-owner and out-of-state flags, years owned, unit count, open loans, equity, and every distress signal. Absentee plus tax-delinquent, or absentee landlord plus fifteen years held, are two-filter searches statewide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many absentee-owner residential properties are there in California?
Properant tracks 3,503,514 absentee-owner residential properties across California's 58 counties as of August 27, 2026, counted from recorded county documents with releases and cancellations removed.
Why do investors target absentee owners?
Because distance weakens attachment. An absentee owner deals with tenants, maintenance, and property taxes on a building they may not have seen in years — and when the records also show long tenure or mounting distress, a well-timed offer letter reads like relief rather than spam. Their mailing address is on every record here, so reaching them is the easy part.
Can I download the absentee owner list?
Yes. Inside Properant you can filter by county, city, equity, owner type, and every other signal, save the list, and export it — or upload your own list and let the platform match and enrich it. The trial is free and requires no credit card.
Build Your Absentee Owner List in Minutes
This page is one slice of it. Properant connects every parcel in California to its owner, open loans, liens and foreclosure stage — then scores and skip-traces the ones worth calling.
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