Dearborn (IN) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Investor ownership in Dearborn County totals 767 Single-Family Residential properties, accounting for 5.6% of the total 13,730 SFRs in the market.

The investor landscape is dominated by 737 individual landlords, who own 595 properties (77.6% of the investor portfolio). In contrast, 145 company landlords hold the remaining 177 properties (23.1%).

A defining characteristic of this market is the preference for cash transactions. A substantial 84.5% of investor-owned properties (648 homes) are held free and clear, compared to only 119 that are financed, signaling a well-capitalized investor base.

The primary strategy for investors is clear, with 730 of the 767 properties (95.2%) being rented out, confirming that the vast majority of holdings are intended as rental income assets rather than short-term flips or secondary homes.

The data reveals a dense market of small players, with 882 distinct landlord entities for just 767 properties, indicating a high prevalence of co-ownership arrangements among local investors.

In Q4 2025, landlords demonstrated significant purchasing power, acquiring properties for an average price of $190,041, which is a staggering 41.3% less than the $323,982 paid by traditional homeowners.

This price advantage translates to a direct cash discount of $133,941 per property, highlighting a distinct ability among investors to identify and secure undervalued assets in the Dearborn County market.

The price gap between landlords and homeowners has shown extreme volatility. After paying a surprising 48.5% premium in Q2 2025 ($491,650 vs. $330,974), investors shifted to securing deep discounts in Q3 (48.5%) and Q4 (41.3%).

The average acquisition price for investors in 2025 ($338,996) was heavily skewed by the high-priced Q2 activity, but this figure is based on a very small number of total transactions throughout the year.

Recent price appreciation trends show a significant jump in landlord acquisition costs from the 2020-2023 average of $158,699, though Q4's average of $190,041 suggests a moderation from the Q2 peak.

Investors were a small but active segment of the Dearborn County market in Q4 2025, purchasing 10 of the 145 total SFRs sold, which represents a 6.9% market share.

The market's growth is driven entirely by small investors. Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) were responsible for 80.0% of all investor acquisitions, purchasing 8 properties.

New landlords are the primary force, with the single-property (Tier 01) category alone accounting for 70.0% of investor purchases (7 properties), brought in by 9 new entities.

In stark contrast, large institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) made no purchases in Q4, highlighting their complete inactivity in the county's current real estate market.

The purchasing activity was highly concentrated at the smallest end of the investor spectrum, with no buying activity from landlords owning between 11 and 50 properties, or those in the 101-1000 property tier.

The investor landscape in Dearborn County is unequivocally dominated by mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties), who control a combined 97.1% of all investor-owned SFRs.

Single-property landlords form the bedrock of the market, with 579 properties representing 72.6% of the total investor portfolio, underscoring the grassroots nature of local real estate investment.

In sharp contrast to national narratives, institutional investors (1,000+ properties) have a virtually non-existent presence, owning just a single property, which accounts for only 0.1% of the investor market share.

Mid-size landlords (11-1000 properties) also represent a very small fraction of the market, collectively owning just 22 properties, or 2.9% of the investor-owned total.

This distribution reveals a highly fragmented market structure where ownership is spread across hundreds of small-scale investors rather than being concentrated in the hands of a few large corporations.

A distinct pattern of ownership structure emerges as portfolio sizes grow in Dearborn County. While individual investors form the vast majority of the market, companies take control at a specific inflection point.

In the smaller tiers, individual ownership is dominant. Individuals own 83.5% of single-property portfolios (487 properties) and 77.3% of 3-5 property portfolios (85 properties).

The strategic shift to a corporate structure occurs in the 6-10 property tier. Here, companies own a 63.0% majority (17 properties), while individuals own the remaining 37.0% (10 properties), marking the clear crossover point.

This trend suggests that as operational complexity and liability increase with portfolio size, investors in Dearborn County see a distinct advantage in incorporating.

Even in the two-property tier, individual ownership remains strong at 72.4%, indicating the decision to incorporate is typically delayed until a landlord manages a more substantial number of assets.

Geographic analysis of Dearborn County reveals that investor concentration and volume do not always align. The highest rate of investor ownership is in zip code 47018, where investors own 10.7% of all SFRs.

However, the largest raw number of investor-owned properties is found in zip code 47025, with 326 properties, despite this area having a much lower ownership rate of 4.7%.

Zip code 47001 represents a blend of both volume and concentration, containing the second-highest number of investor properties (226) and the second-highest ownership rate (8.6%).

This data indicates divergent investment strategies across the county. Some zip codes attract a high volume of investors in a large market, while others are smaller markets with a much denser saturation of rental properties.

The top five zip codes by investor property count are 47025 (326), 47001 (226), 47018 (63), 47060 (63), and 47032 (33), collectively representing the core of investment activity in the county.

Landlords in Dearborn County have been a force of steady accumulation, consistently acting as net buyers of residential property. In 2025, they purchased 41 properties while selling only 20, for a net gain of 21 homes.

This trend has been consistent on a quarterly basis, with landlords ending Q4, Q3, and Q2 of 2025 as net buyers, signaling sustained confidence in the local market.

The acquisition pace remained stable year-over-year, with 41 purchases in 2025 closely mirroring the 44 purchases made in 2024.

The behavior of institutional investors provides a stark contrast. The sole institutional-tier entity in the county was neutral in 2025, with one purchase and one sale, indicating a static or divestment strategy rather than expansion.

This dynamic reinforces that the growth in investor ownership across Dearborn County is being fueled exclusively by smaller, local landlords steadily adding to their portfolios.

In Q4 2025, landlords participated in 12 of the 220 total SFR transactions in Dearborn County, capturing a 5.5% share of market activity.

New, first-time landlords were the most active group, with the single-property tier accounting for 9 of the 12 investor transactions and paying an average price of $190,041.

A critical finding from the quarter is that 100% of investor acquisitions came from the open market, not from other investors. The data shows 0% of properties were bought from other landlords, meaning investors were buying directly from traditional homeowners.

Transaction volume was heavily skewed towards the smallest investors, as mom-and-pop tiers (01-04) conducted 10 transactions, while institutional investors (Tier 09) conducted zero.

This transactional data confirms that the investor market in Dearborn County is not a closed loop of investors trading assets, but rather a system where small landlords are actively acquiring properties from the general housing supply.