Calhoun (GA) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Investors hold a significant footprint in Calhoun County, owning 473 single-family residential properties, which constitutes 34.3% of the total 1,380 SFRs in the market.

The market is overwhelmingly dominated by individual investors rather than corporations. Individuals own 410 properties, or 86.7% of the investor-owned housing stock, while companies own the remaining 66 properties (14.0%).

This individual dominance is also reflected in the landlord entity count, where 451 of the 510 total landlords (88.4%) are individuals.

A key strategic insight is the preference for all-cash acquisitions. A staggering 431 investor-owned properties (91.1%) are owned outright without financing, compared to only 42 properties that carry a mortgage.

The portfolio is clearly geared towards generating rental income, with 470 of the 473 properties being non-owner-occupied, underscoring a strong business focus for these holdings.

In a striking reversal of the national trend where investors typically secure discounts, landlords in Calhoun County paid a 23.2% premium for homes in Q4 2025. They paid an average of $70,333, which was $13,242 more than the $57,091 paid by traditional homeowners.

This premium-paying behavior has been a consistent theme throughout most of 2025. In Q3, landlords paid an extraordinary 223.7% premium ($384,247 vs. $118,700), and in Q2 they paid a 9.9% premium ($105,333 vs. $95,875).

The only recent quarter where investors achieved a discount was Q1 2025, when they purchased properties for an average of $26,250, a deep 70.8% discount compared to the homeowner price of $89,767.

This pricing volatility suggests a market where investors may be targeting specific, higher-value properties or competing aggressively for limited inventory, leading them to pay above homeowner market rates.

The average acquisition price during the 2020-2023 period was $137,455, indicating that recent quarterly prices fluctuate significantly around this historical baseline.

Investor activity surged in Q4 2025, with landlords purchasing 4 of the 8 total SFRs sold in Calhoun County, capturing a 50.0% market share for the quarter.

The entirety of this purchasing activity was driven by the smallest investors. Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) accounted for 100.0% of all investor acquisitions, with institutional investors (Tier 09) showing no activity.

Specifically, all 4 properties were acquired by new, single-property landlords (Tier 01), indicating fresh capital entering the rental market at the smallest scale.

These 4 new landlords entering the market signal grassroots growth in the local rental sector, rather than consolidation by larger players.

The absence of purchasing from mid-size or institutional tiers highlights that the competitive landscape in Q4 was defined exclusively by new, small-scale investors.

The investor landscape in Calhoun County is defined by the complete dominance of small-scale landlords. Mom-and-pop investors, who own between 1 and 10 properties, collectively control 97.3% of all investor-owned SFRs.

The foundation of this market is the single-property landlord (Tier 01), a group that alone owns 410 properties, representing a remarkable 85.8% of the entire investor portfolio.

As portfolio sizes increase, ownership drops off dramatically. Landlords with 2 properties hold 7.3% of the market, while those with 3-5 properties hold just 4.0%.

In stark contrast to national headlines, there is absolutely no presence from institutional investors (Tier 09). The largest landlords in the county fall into the 51-100 property tier, and they control only 1.3% of the market.

This ownership structure reveals a highly fragmented and decentralized rental market, powered almost exclusively by local, small-scale entrepreneurs rather than large corporations.

In a significant local trend, individual investors in Calhoun County maintain majority ownership across every single portfolio size, defying the common pattern where companies dominate larger tiers. There is no crossover point; individuals lead in all categories.

The dominance of individuals is most pronounced among single-property landlords, where they own 366 of 410 properties (88.6%).

Even as portfolios grow, individuals retain control. They own 85.7% of two-property portfolios and 68.4% of portfolios with 3-5 properties.

Most strikingly, in the highest tier represented in the county (51-100 properties), all 6 properties are owned by individuals, meaning companies have zero presence at the top of this market.

The highest penetration for company ownership is in the small 3-5 property tier, where they hold 6 properties (31.6%), indicating their activity is confined to a very small scale.

Investor ownership in Calhoun County is not evenly distributed, but rather highly concentrated in a few key zip codes. Two zip codes, 39813 and 39866, lead the county with the highest investor ownership rate at 38.3%.

While not the highest in percentage, the zip code 39846 contains the largest number of investor-owned properties, with 158 homes, corresponding to a 30.2% ownership rate.

High investor penetration is a common theme across the top areas. The zip codes 39862 (33.8%) and 39842 (37.5%) also demonstrate significant investor presence, indicating these are prime targets for rental investment.

The top five zip codes by property count (39846, 39813, 39862, 39866, and 39842) collectively account for 462 of the 473 investor properties, representing 97.7% of all investor holdings in the county.

This geographic concentration suggests that investor strategy is hyper-local, focusing intensely on specific neighborhoods or communities within the county.

Landlords in Calhoun County are actively expanding their portfolios, consistently operating as net buyers. In Q4 2025, they demonstrated a strong accumulation trend, purchasing 4 properties while selling only 1.

This pattern of net acquisition has been consistent throughout the year. For all of 2025, landlords purchased 19 properties and sold only 2, resulting in a net gain of 17 properties and a buy-to-sell ratio of 9.5-to-1.

The acquisition momentum was equally strong in the prior year. In 2024, investors also purchased 19 properties while selling just one, showing a sustained, multi-year strategy of portfolio growth.

In Q3 2025, the buying activity was even more pronounced, with 7 properties purchased and only 1 sold.

With no institutional activity to analyze, this data confirms that the market's growth is being driven entirely by smaller, local landlords who are consistently adding to their holdings.

Landlords played a major role in the Q4 2025 market, participating in 4 of the 9 total transactions, for a market share of 44.4%.

All landlord transaction activity was concentrated at the entry level of the market. Single-property investors (Tier 01) were responsible for 100% of the 4 landlord transactions, with no activity from larger tiers.

These new landlords paid an average of $70,333 for their properties in Q4, establishing a new price point for entry-level investment in the county.

A key finding is the source of these properties: none of the 4 homes purchased by landlords came from other investors. This 0% inter-landlord transaction rate indicates that new investors are acquiring their inventory from homeowners or new construction, not from existing rental stock changing hands.

The absence of institutional transactions further solidifies the narrative of a market driven by grassroots growth, where new small investors are the primary drivers of activity.