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

Investors hold a 10.3% share of the Single-Family Residential market in Lee County, owning 1,128 out of 10,956 total properties.

The investor landscape is dominated by individuals, who own 964 properties (85.5%), overwhelmingly surpassing the 176 properties (15.6%) held by companies.

This individual dominance is also reflected in the entity count, with 1,106 individual landlords compared to just 138 company landlords, highlighting a fragmented, small-investor-driven market.

A clear majority of the portfolio, 1,057 properties or 93.7%, is actively rented, confirming a strong business focus among property owners rather than holding for speculation.

Investors in Lee County demonstrate high liquidity, with 82.4% of the portfolio (930 properties) being owned outright with cash, while only 17.6% (198 properties) are financed.

Investors in Lee County achieved a remarkable 59.7% price discount compared to traditional homeowners in Q4 2025, paying an average of $87,648 versus the homeowner average of $217,571.

This price gap translates into a substantial financial advantage for investors, averaging a $129,923 savings on every property acquired during the quarter.

The trend shows that the investor's purchasing advantage has been accelerating throughout the year. The discount widened progressively from 21.6% in Q1, to 35.1% in Q2, 45.4% in Q3, and peaked at 59.7% in Q4.

This widening gap suggests that investors are increasingly effective at sourcing off-market or distressed properties that are not typically available to or sought by traditional homebuyers.

The consistently lower acquisition prices for landlords indicate a separate, more opportunistic market segment operating in parallel to the conventional retail housing market.

In Q4 2025, landlords were a significant force in the market, purchasing 19 of the 156 total SFRs sold, which represents a 12.2% market share of all acquisitions.

The acquisition activity was almost entirely driven by small-scale investors, as mom-and-pop landlords (portfolios of 1-10 properties) were responsible for 17 of the 19 investor purchases (89.5%).

New market entrants were the most active group, with 13 new single-property landlord entities acquiring 12 homes, accounting for 63.2% of all investor purchases this quarter.

Institutional investors (1,000+ properties) had a minimal impact, buying just one property and making up only 5.3% of the quarter's investor activity.

This data confirms that the growth in Lee County's rental market is fueled by new and existing small landlords, not large corporate entities.

The investor ownership structure in Lee County is overwhelmingly controlled by small, 'mom-and-pop' landlords (1-10 properties), who collectively own 96.3% of all investor-held SFRs.

This market is highly fragmented, with single-property landlords forming the largest single cohort, owning 755 properties and representing 63.7% of the entire investor portfolio.

In stark contrast to national narratives, institutional investors with over 1,000 properties have a virtually nonexistent presence, holding just 5 properties, which equates to a mere 0.4% market share.

Mid-size investors (11-1,000 properties) also constitute a very small portion of the market, collectively owning only 3.7% of investor properties.

This distribution highlights a market powered by local, small-scale capital, where large-scale corporate ownership has not taken hold.

In Lee County, individual investors maintain majority ownership across all reported portfolio sizes, debunking the myth that larger portfolios are exclusively corporate-run.

This trend holds true from the smallest to the largest tiers; individuals own 88.8% of single-property portfolios and 70.2% of portfolios in the 6-10 property range.

Remarkably, there is no crossover point where corporate ownership takes over. Even in the 21-50 property tier, individuals own 25 of the 28 properties, a dominant 89.3% share.

Company ownership remains a minority stake across the board, with its highest penetration seen in the 11-20 property tier, where it reaches 40.0% but still does not surpass individual ownership.

This data illustrates a market where individual capital and entrepreneurship are the driving forces behind portfolio building at every level.

Geographic concentration is a key feature of investor ownership in Lee County, with the 61021 zip code serving as the primary hub, containing 705 investor-owned properties.

Following 61021, the next most significant areas by property count are 61310 (133 properties) and 61006 (54 properties), demonstrating a steep drop-off in volume outside the main zone.

A critical distinction exists between property volume and market penetration. The 61071 zip code has the highest rate of investor ownership at 22.2%, indicating a market saturated with rentals relative to its size.

Similarly, the 61331 (20.5% rate) and 61376 (18.2% rate) zip codes show high investor density, pointing to specific neighborhoods that are rental-heavy.

This contrast between high-volume areas (like 61021 with a 10.3% rate) and high-penetration areas reveals divergent investor strategies, targeting either scale or market dominance in smaller regions.

Landlords in Lee County are in a phase of consistent portfolio expansion, acting as net buyers across all recent quarters. In Q4 2025, they purchased 21 properties while only selling 9.

This trend holds for the entire year, as landlords acquired 74 properties and sold just 34 in 2025, resulting in a strong net gain of 40 properties and a buy-to-sell ratio of 2.18 to 1.

The pattern of accumulation continues from 2024, when landlords were also significant net buyers with 87 purchases versus 34 sales.

Notably, institutional investors (1000+ tier) have shifted their market position. After being net sellers in 2024 (2 buys vs. 3 sells), they pivoted to become net buyers in 2025 with 7 buys and only 2 sells.

The combination of sustained buying from smaller landlords and a strategic reversal by institutions signals broad confidence and an accumulative posture in the local rental market.

In Q4 2025, landlord activity constituted 10.1% of all SFR transactions in Lee County, with investors participating in 21 of the 208 total market transactions.

The transaction volume was dominated by mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties), who were responsible for 18 of the 21 investor-involved deals.

First-time investors were the most dynamic segment, with 13 transactions completed by single-property landlords at an average purchase price of $85,208.

In contrast, institutional investors had a very quiet quarter, engaging in only 2 transactions.

The data shows that investors are primarily acquiring inventory from the open market, not from each other. Only one purchase by a small landlord (in the 3-5 property tier) came from an existing landlord, indicating low levels of inter-investor trading.