Jo Daviess (IL) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Individual investors are the backbone of the Jo Daviess County rental market, owning 2,070 properties, which constitutes a commanding 90.5% of the total investor portfolio. Companies, in contrast, hold a much smaller stake with 275 properties (12.0%).

Landlord-owned properties represent a significant footprint in the local housing market, accounting for 29.0% of the total 7,889 single-family residential homes.

A strong indicator of investor financial health is the preference for cash ownership. A total of 1,667 properties are owned outright, a figure nearly three times higher than the 620 properties that are financed.

The investor base is broad and fragmented, comprising 3,038 distinct entities. The vast majority are individuals (2,728) compared to just 310 company entities, reinforcing the 'mom-and-pop' nature of the market.

The primary focus of these holdings is clear, with 2,254 properties identified as rentals, demonstrating that the overwhelming majority of the investor portfolio is actively used for rental income.

The price gap between landlords and traditional homeowners in Jo Daviess County has been highly unpredictable. In Q1 2025, landlords paid a significant 50.7% premium ($280,079 vs. $185,829), but by Q3 this flipped to a 15.0% discount ($237,152 vs. $279,020).

The common assumption of a consistent landlord discount does not hold true here. In two of the three recorded quarters of 2025, landlords paid substantial premiums over homeowners, including a $67,170 premium in Q2 (27.9%).

A critical trend is the complete halt in recorded landlord purchasing activity. From Q4 2024 through the end of 2025, investors acquired zero properties, suggesting a major pullback from the market.

This recent inactivity contrasts with the pandemic-era (2020-2023) average price of $244,538, a benchmark that the volatile 2025 prices frequently surpassed before activity ceased.

The lack of any acquisitions in recent quarters signals a market where investors have fully paused, likely waiting for more favorable economic conditions or entry points.

In a stark reversal of previous trends, landlords made zero SFR purchases in Q4 2025, capturing 0% of the 4 total market sales and indicating a complete freeze in investor acquisitions.

The purchasing halt was universal across all investor sizes. Both mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties) and the non-existent institutional investors recorded zero acquisitions for the quarter.

The lack of any purchases in the single-property tier signifies that no new landlords entered the Jo Daviess County market during Q4 2025, halting the flow of new small-scale investment.

With investors entirely on the sidelines, the local housing market was driven exclusively by other buyer types, presumably traditional homeowners, who accounted for 100% of Q4 purchases.

This Q4 inactivity stands in sharp contrast to the substantial existing landlord portfolio of 2,287 properties, highlighting a dramatic shift from a strategy of accumulation to a holding pattern.

The investor landscape in Jo Daviess County is defined by small landlords, with 'mom-and-pop' investors (owning 1-10 properties) controlling a near-total 99.9% of all investor-owned SFRs.

Single-property landlords are the dominant force, with their 1,980 properties accounting for a massive 84.5% of the entire investor portfolio. This underscores the hyper-fragmented nature of local ownership.

Institutional capital is completely absent from this market. There is zero ownership from investors in the 1,000+ property tier, challenging any narrative of large corporations controlling local housing.

Ownership is heavily concentrated at the smallest scale. The first two tiers combined (1 and 2 properties) own 2,133 properties, representing 91.0% of all investor-held homes.

The market lacks a significant mid-size investor segment. Landlords owning 11-50 properties control a negligible 3 properties in total (0.1%), indicating a steep decline in ownership beyond the 10-property threshold.

Unlike in larger metropolitan markets, there is no portfolio size in Jo Daviess County where companies become the majority owners. Individual investors maintain overwhelming control across every single tier.

Individual dominance persists even as portfolios grow. Individuals own 87.7% of single-property portfolios, 96.7% of two-property portfolios, and 100.0% of properties in the 11-20 tier.

Company ownership is minimal and does not scale with portfolio size. The largest corporate presence is 12.3% in the single-property tier, and this share diminishes in larger tiers, falling to just 3.6% for portfolios of 6-10 properties.

This ownership structure points to a market driven by local residents and small-scale private investment rather than professionalized, corporate real estate firms.

The data clearly shows that individuals are not just entry-level landlords; they represent the entirety of the largest investor portfolios recorded in the county.

The 61036 zip code is the clear epicenter of investor activity in Jo Daviess County, containing 1,258 investor-owned properties. This single area represents more than half of the county's entire investor portfolio.

Several smaller zip codes show extreme levels of investor saturation. The 61074 zip code is reported as 100.0% investor-owned, while the 61059 zip code has a 61.4% rate, indicating these are essentially rental-exclusive communities.

A distinction exists between areas with the highest count versus the highest percentage of investor ownership. While 61036 leads in volume, smaller zip codes like 61074 and 61059 demonstrate a more intense market penetration.

The top five zip codes by investor count all feature high ownership rates, ranging from 13.2% in 61085 to a very high 44.1% in 61001, showing deep investor presence in key areas.

This geographic clustering suggests investors are strategically targeting specific communities, likely influenced by factors such as tourism appeal, local employment, or desirable housing stock.

Historical data reveals a strong accumulation phase among landlords, who have consistently operated as aggressive net buyers. In 2025, they acquired 111 properties while selling only 10, a net gain of 101 properties.

The buy-to-sell ratio highlights this acquisitive stance, reaching 11.1x in 2025. This followed an even more aggressive year in 2024, which had a 13.1x ratio based on 131 buys versus 10 sells.

While landlords remained strong net buyers in 2025, acquisition momentum did slow slightly compared to the previous year, with 20 fewer purchases.

Selling activity has been consistently low and stable. Investors sold exactly 10 properties in both 2024 and 2025, indicating that dispositions are rare and likely represent isolated portfolio adjustments rather than a market-wide trend.

This pattern of net buying held true on a quarterly basis throughout early 2025, with Q2 showing 57 buys versus only 6 sells, before activity halted later in the year.

Landlords were completely absent from the transaction market in Q4 2025, accounting for 0% of the 5 total SFR transactions in Jo Daviess County.

The market freeze extended to inter-landlord trading, with zero properties bought from other landlords. This indicates a pause in both external acquisitions and internal portfolio reshuffling.

This halt in transaction volume was universal, impacting every investor tier from single-property landlords upwards. No segment of the investor community was active during the quarter.

The Q4 data marks a dramatic reversal from the strong net-buying activity seen in previous quarters and years, signaling a significant shift in market sentiment or conditions.

With investors on the sidelines, the 5 transactions that did occur were exclusively between non-investor parties, making Q4 a market driven entirely by traditional homeowners.