Brown (IL) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Investor ownership in Brown County's single-family residential market comprises 227 properties, representing a 15.0% share of the total 1,516 SFRs.

The market is defined by the dominance of individual investors, who own 216 properties (95.2%), while company-owned entities hold a minimal stake of just 11 properties (4.8%).

This individual dominance is further reflected in the landlord entity count, where 176 of the 186 total landlords (94.6%) are individuals, reinforcing the local, small-scale nature of the rental market.

Cash is the preferred acquisition method, with 202 properties (89.0%) held free of financing, compared to only 25 properties that are financed. This suggests a low-leverage, financially stable investor base.

The portfolio is clearly geared towards generating rental income, as 213 of the 227 properties are designated as non-owner-occupied, indicating a strong focus on long-term rental strategies rather than short-term speculation.

Recent acquisition pricing for landlords in Brown County cannot be determined, as there were zero properties purchased by investors in the past four quarters through Q3 2025.

Historical data from early 2025 reveals extreme price volatility due to a very low number of transactions. In Q3, a single landlord purchase at $376,500 was 107.5% higher than the homeowner average of $181,406.

Conversely, in Q1 2025, the average landlord acquisition price of $65,300 represented a significant 40.8% discount compared to the homeowner average of $110,286.

This dramatic swing from a deep discount to a high premium illustrates the unreliability of pricing trends in a market with minimal transaction volume, where individual property characteristics heavily influence the average.

Comparing broader timeframes, the average landlord acquisition price during the 2020-2023 period was $83,275, indicating a generally more affordable market in the recent past.

The investor market in Brown County was completely dormant in Q4 2025, with landlords acquiring zero of the 1 total SFR properties sold during the period.

This lack of activity was universal across all investor types, from new entrants to large-scale operators. No new single-property landlords entered the market this quarter.

Mom-and-pop landlords, who constitute the vast majority of owners in the county, made no purchases, accounting for 0.0% of all landlord activity.

Similarly, there was no acquisition activity from mid-size or institutional investors, reflecting a market pause or a lack of available properties meeting investor criteria.

The absence of landlord purchases indicates a stable market with low turnover, contrasting sharply with more speculative or high-growth regions.

The investor landscape in Brown County is overwhelmingly dominated by small-scale, mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties), who collectively own 210 of the 227 investor-held SFRs, an 89.4% share.

First-time or single-property landlords (Tier 01) form the bedrock of the market, controlling 121 properties, which represents a majority 51.5% of all investor-owned housing.

The next largest segment consists of landlords owning 3-5 properties, who hold 55 properties for a 23.4% share, further cementing the control of smaller investors.

Mid-size investors are a minor presence, with the 21-50 property tier holding just 24 properties (10.2%) and the 11-20 tier holding a single property.

Notably, there is zero presence from institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties), indicating Brown County is exclusively a market for local and regional individual investors, not large corporations.

Individual investors completely dominate every segment of Brown County's real estate investment market. Companies only have a foothold in the smallest tiers, owning 9 single-property holdings (7.4%) and 2 two-property holdings (8.7%).

In every portfolio tier of three properties or more, individual ownership is 100%. This includes the largest portfolios in the county, such as the 21-50 property tier, which is composed entirely of 24 properties owned by individuals.

There is no 'crossover point' where companies become the majority owners. The market structure shows that as portfolios grow in Brown County, they remain under individual control rather than transitioning to corporate structures.

This pattern suggests that local investors prefer to hold assets under personal names or simple structures rather than forming larger corporate entities for their real estate activities.

The lack of company presence in mid-size tiers underscores the absence of professionalized, large-scale property management firms or investment funds in the local SFR market.

Geographic concentration is a defining feature of investor ownership in Brown County. A single zip code, 62353, is home to 164 of the 227 investor-owned SFRs, representing 72.2% of the entire investor portfolio.

While 62353 dominates by sheer volume, its investor ownership rate is 14.7%, which is not the highest in the county.

The highest penetration rates are found in smaller, more rural zip codes. For instance, 62323 has the highest rate at 33.3%, followed by 62324 at 20.0% and 62375 at 18.8%.

This distinction between high-volume and high-percentage areas highlights different market dynamics, with the bulk of rental housing located in one primary area while other smaller communities have a higher proportion of rentals relative to their size.

The top five zip codes by investor property count are 62353 (164 properties), 62378 (41), 62375 (19), 62324 (2), and 62323 (1), collectively accounting for nearly all investor activity.

Historical transaction data shows that landlords in Brown County were modest net buyers in 2024, with 6 property purchases versus 4 sales for a net gain of 2 properties.

The low total volume of 10 transactions for the entire year underscores the market's limited liquidity and the prevalence of long-term buy-and-hold strategies among local investors.

There is no available data on inter-landlord transactions, making it unclear what percentage of sales are between existing investors.

Institutional investors (1000+ properties) have no transactional footprint in Brown County, with zero recorded buys or sells, reaffirming their absence from this market.

The limited activity suggests that opportunities to acquire rental properties are infrequent and that the existing investor base is largely stable, with few owners looking to exit their positions.

In Q4 2025, the single-family residential transaction market in Brown County saw just one sale, and it did not involve a landlord as a buyer, resulting in a 0% landlord transaction share.

Activity was nonexistent across all investor tiers. Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04), who own the majority of rental properties, recorded zero transactions.

Likewise, there were no transactions from mid-size or institutional investors, reflecting the complete pause in investment activity during the quarter.

As there were no landlord purchases, there is no pricing data to compare across tiers, nor is there any information on inter-landlord trading for Q4.

This lack of participation in the transaction market suggests investors were either holding their existing assets, or there were no properties available that met their investment criteria during this period.