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

In Parke County, investors hold 927 Single-Family Residential properties, accounting for 19.7% of the county's 4,711 total SFRs.

Individual investors are the backbone of the local rental market, owning 789 properties, which is 85.1% of the total investor portfolio. In contrast, company-owned entities hold 143 properties, or 15.4%.

The ownership structure is similarly skewed towards individuals when looking at entity counts. There are 1,072 distinct landlords in the county, of which 956 are individuals (89.2%) and just 116 are companies (10.8%).

A striking 96.8% of the investor-owned portfolio is classified as rented (897 properties), indicating a strong focus on generating rental income.

Financing appears to be a minor part of the investment strategy in Parke County. The vast majority of properties are held outright as cash or are rented (897), with only 30 properties currently financed.

Investor acquisition activity completely ceased in the latter half of 2025, with zero properties purchased in Q4. This lack of activity prevents a direct price comparison with traditional homeowners for the most recent quarter.

Looking at the last active quarter, Q1 2025, landlords demonstrated a slight pricing advantage. They acquired properties for an average of $68,227, which was 4.7% less than the $71,571 paid by traditional homeowners, a net savings of $3,344.

An anomalous data point in Q2 2025 suggested landlords paid a 56.3% premium ($323,167 vs. $206,753), but this is based on zero properties purchased, rendering the figure statistically insignificant and likely a data artifact.

Historical data shows significant price appreciation from the 2020-2023 period, when the average landlord acquisition price was $189,955, compared to the limited activity in early 2025.

The complete absence of purchases in Q4 2025 signals a dramatic cooling of the investment market in Parke County, a sharp reversal from the active buying seen in prior years.

The investor market in Parke County came to a complete standstill in Q4 2025, with landlords purchasing zero of the zero total SFRs sold. This represents a 0.0% market share and a halt to all acquisition activity.

No new landlords entered the market in Q4 2025, as indicated by zero purchases within the single-property (Tier 01) category.

The inactivity was universal across all investor sizes. Mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties) made up 0.0% of the quarter's landlord purchases, matching the 0.0% from institutional investors (1000+ properties).

This lack of activity marks a significant shift from previous periods and suggests a major slowdown or 'wait-and-see' approach from investors in the Parke County real estate market at the end of 2025.

The data reflects a market in hibernation, with no movement in portfolio acquisition for any investor segment during the final quarter of the year.

The investor landscape in Parke County is overwhelmingly dominated by small-scale landlords. Mom-and-pop investors (Tiers 01-04, owning 1-10 properties) control a massive 95.2% of all investor-owned SFRs.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) are the single largest group, holding 754 properties, which represents 78.6% of the entire investor-owned housing stock. This highlights the granular, small-business nature of the county's rental market.

In stark contrast, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) have a virtually nonexistent footprint, owning just a single property, which is 0.1% of the total investor portfolio.

Mid-size landlords (Tiers 05-08, owning 11-1000 properties) collectively own the remaining 4.7% of the portfolio, indicating a very thin middle market between the smallest and largest players.

This distribution, detailed in CH08-1, shows a market structure built on small, local investment rather than large, corporate ownership, challenging common narratives about institutional takeovers.

Individual investors form the foundation of Parke County's rental market, dominating the smaller portfolio tiers. They own 89.2% of single-property (Tier 01) holdings and 81.0% of two-property (Tier 02) portfolios.

The balance of power shifts decisively towards corporate ownership as portfolios grow. The crossover point occurs in the 21-50 property tier (Small-medium), where companies own 8 properties, representing an 80.0% majority share.

Even in the 6-10 property tier, company ownership becomes more significant, holding a 39.3% share (11 properties), a substantial increase from the 10.8% share they hold in the single-property tier.

This pattern, illustrated in CH09-1, indicates a clear strategic difference: individuals are the primary entry-level and small-portfolio investors, while scaling a portfolio beyond 20 properties in Parke County is predominantly a corporate activity.

While individuals maintain a presence even in the 11-20 property tier (holding 55.0%), the trend shows that significant portfolio growth is strongly correlated with a shift from individual to company ownership structure.

Geographic analysis reveals that investor ownership in Parke County is highly concentrated. The 47872 zip code is the epicenter of activity by volume, with 512 investor-owned properties, representing a significant 21.1% ownership rate.

However, the highest market penetration occurs in smaller areas. The 47836 zip code has an investor ownership rate of 44.4%, and 47834 follows closely with 38.5%, suggesting these areas are particularly attractive for rental investment.

The top five regions by investor property count are rounded out by 47862 (99 properties, 20.7% rate) and 47874 (91 properties, 11.9% rate), showing a clear focus on a handful of zip codes.

This distinction between high-volume areas (like 47872) and high-percentage areas (like 47836) highlights different investment dynamics within the county, as shown in CH10-1 and CH10-2.

Data for zip codes 46175 and 47805 was not available, but the existing data points to a pattern of clustered investment rather than a diffuse presence across the entire county.

Historical transaction data reveals a clear cooling trend in Parke County's investor market. In 2024, landlords were decisively net buyers with a 4.6x buy-to-sell ratio, purchasing 23 properties and selling only 5.

This momentum dissipated through 2025. While the full year 2025 still shows a net buyer position (7 buys vs. 4 sells), the quarterly data tells a more nuanced story of a market grinding to a halt.

The trend is most evident in Q2 2025, where activity reached equilibrium with 4 buy transactions perfectly matched by 4 sell transactions. This neutral stance was a precursor to the complete stop in market activity observed in Q4.

The slowdown from aggressive accumulation in 2024 to a balanced market in mid-2025, and finally to zero activity, suggests investors have adopted a cautious, hands-off approach to the Parke County market.

There was no recorded transaction activity for institutional investors (1000+ tier) in the provided timeframes, consistent with their minimal ownership presence in the county.

Q4 2025 was a period of complete transactional inactivity for Parke County investors, with landlords participating in 0 of the 0 total SFR transactions, for a 0.0% market share.

This market-wide pause affected every investor tier equally. Transaction volume was zero for single-property landlords (Tier 01) all the way up to institutional investors (Tier 09).

Consequently, there was no inter-landlord trading activity during the quarter. The percentage of properties bought from other landlords was 0%, as no acquisitions occurred.

Due to the absence of transactions, it is not possible to analyze purchase price variations between tiers for Q4. The average purchase price for all tiers was $0.

This data indicates a collective decision by the investor community to pause acquisitions in Parke County during the final quarter of 2025, signaling significant market uncertainty or a lack of viable inventory.