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

Investors hold a significant 13.3% of the single-family residential market in Crawford County, IL, with a total portfolio of 857 properties out of 6,464.

The investor landscape is overwhelmingly characterized by individual ownership. Individual landlords own 801 properties, constituting 93.5% of the investor-owned housing stock, compared to just 59 properties (6.9%) owned by companies.

This individual dominance extends to the entity level, where 842 of the 905 total landlords (93.0%) are individuals, reinforcing the local, non-corporate nature of the rental market.

Financial strategies among these landlords lean heavily towards cash ownership. A remarkable 88.6% of the portfolio (759 properties) is owned free and clear, while only 98 properties are financed, suggesting a low-leverage, risk-averse approach to investment in the area.

The portfolio's primary function as rental housing is clear, with 813 of the 857 properties (94.9%) actively rented, underscoring the vital role these investors play in providing housing supply to the county.

In Q4 2025, landlords demonstrated a distinct pricing advantage, acquiring property for an average of $75,000, which is $20,333 (21.3%) less than the $95,333 paid by traditional homeowners.

The price gap between landlords and homeowners has shown extreme volatility throughout the year, swinging from a massive 70.2% discount in Q3 to a much narrower 4.9% in Q2. This pattern points to opportunistic buying in a market with low transaction volume rather than a stable, predictable discount.

A longer-term view shows significant price appreciation. The average landlord acquisition price in 2025 ($109,100) is 41.5% higher than the average during the 2020-2023 period ($77,090).

However, the market appears to have cooled from its peak. The average price in 2025 is substantially lower than the 2024 average of $174,179, suggesting a market correction or a shift in the type of assets being acquired by investors.

It is crucial to note that with very low transaction volumes, particularly the single landlord purchase in Q4, these quarterly averages can be heavily influenced by the specific characteristics of individual sales.

Despite a slow quarter for the overall market, investors maintained a presence by purchasing 1 of the 5 total SFR homes sold in Crawford County, capturing a 20.0% market share in Q4 2025.

The quarter's activity was highly concentrated, with a single investor in the small-medium tier (21-50 properties) responsible for all landlord purchasing activity.

Notably, the backbone of the local market—mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties)—made zero purchases in Q4. This pause in activity from a group that owns 98.3% of the rental stock is a significant deviation from the norm.

The market saw no new landlord entrants in Q4, as there were no purchases made by single-property (Tier 01) investors.

As expected in a market of this scale, institutional investors (1,000+ properties) were also absent from purchasing activity, reinforcing their non-existent role in the county.

The ownership structure of investor-owned housing in Crawford County is defined by its fragmentation and the dominance of small-scale landlords. Mom-and-pop investors, those owning 1-10 properties, control a combined 98.3% of the rental housing stock.

Single-property landlords form the bedrock of this market, holding 578 properties. This single tier accounts for 64.0% of all investor-owned SFRs, highlighting the critical role of first-time and small investors.

The next most significant group are landlords with 3-5 properties, who own 167 properties, or 18.5% of the total investor portfolio.

There is a sharp decline in ownership as portfolio sizes increase. Landlords with 11 or more properties collectively own less than 2% of the investor-owned homes in the county.

The complete absence of institutional investors (1,000+ properties) confirms that Crawford County's rental market operates entirely outside the influence of large-scale corporate capital, representing a classic 'Main Street' investment landscape.

Individual, rather than corporate, ownership is the defining characteristic across all investor portfolio sizes in Crawford County. In every single tier, from single-property owners to the largest local portfolios, individuals own over 91% of the properties.

The highest concentration of individual ownership is found among landlords with 3-5 properties, where they own 164 of 167 properties (98.2%).

There is no evidence of a 'corporatization' of the rental market at any scale. No crossover point exists where companies become the majority owners, underscoring the deeply personal nature of real estate investment in the area.

Company ownership is minimal and does not scale with portfolio size. The largest number of company-owned properties (43) is in the single-property tier, suggesting these are primarily small LLCs used for liability protection by individual operators rather than large businesses.

This data confirms that investment growth in Crawford County occurs through individuals expanding their personal portfolios, not through corporate acquisition strategies.

The geographic distribution of investor-owned properties in Crawford County is extremely concentrated. A single zip code, 62454, serves as the epicenter of investment, containing 501 properties, which is 58.5% of the county's entire investor portfolio.

The top three zip codes by property count (62454, 62449, and 62451) collectively hold 747 properties, accounting for 87.2% of all investor-owned homes, indicating that investor focus is narrow and targeted.

A distinction exists between areas with a high volume of investor properties and those with a high investor ownership rate. While 62454 has the highest count, its 13.6% ownership rate is surpassed by smaller zip codes like 62478 (18.2%) and 62464 (17.5%).

The 100.0% investor ownership rate reported in zip code 61938 is an anomaly, likely representing a single property in an area with very few SFRs, rather than a fully investor-owned community.

This analysis reveals that investors are not spread evenly but are clustered in specific communities, likely driven by factors such as rental demand, property values, and available inventory.

Investors in Crawford County have remained in a clear accumulation phase throughout 2025, purchasing five times as many properties as they sold. The year-to-date activity shows 15 buys versus only 3 sells.

This net-buyer stance continues a trend from 2024, when investors acquired 45 properties and sold 18, for a buy/sell ratio of 2.5.

However, the pace of acquisitions has decelerated sharply. The 15 purchases in 2025 mark a 66.7% decrease in volume compared to the 45 properties bought during 2024, signaling a potential market shift or a more cautious investor sentiment.

The most recent quarter (Q4 2025) was perfectly balanced, with 1 buy and 1 sell, a notable slowdown from Q2 2025 when investors were net buyers of 7 properties.

Institutional investors recorded no transactions, which is consistent with their complete absence from this market's ownership records.

Investor demand accounted for one-fifth of the housing market in Q4 2025, with landlords responsible for 1 of the 5 total SFR transactions in Crawford County.

The quarter's transaction activity was anomalous compared to the overall ownership structure. A single mid-size landlord (21-50 property tier) was the only active investor, while the typically dominant mom-and-pop tiers made no purchases.

The purchase price for this transaction was $75,000, aligning with the significant discount investors achieved compared to homeowners during the same period.

There was no inter-landlord trading in Q4. The 0% 'Bought From Landlords' rate indicates the property was acquired from a traditional homeowner or was a new asset to the rental market.

The complete inactivity from both the smallest (Tier 01) and largest (Tier 09) investors highlights a highly subdued and unusual quarter for transaction flows in the county.