Union (KY) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Investors have a significant footprint in the Union County housing market, owning 999 single-family residential properties, which accounts for 24.1% of the total 4,146 SFRs in the area.

The ownership landscape is overwhelmingly composed of private individuals rather than corporations. Individual landlords own 811 properties, representing 81.2% of the investor-owned market, compared to 210 properties (21.0%) held by companies.

This individual dominance extends to the entity level, where 894 of the 1,016 total landlords (88.0%) are individuals, reinforcing the 'mom-and-pop' character of the local rental market.

A defining feature of this market is the high rate of cash ownership. A remarkable 86.8% of investor-owned properties (867 homes) are owned free and clear, with only a small fraction (13.2%) being financed.

The portfolio is clearly geared towards generating rental income, with 960 of the 999 properties (96.1%) being non-owner-occupied, indicating a professional, business-oriented approach even among small investors.

In the most recent quarter, landlords demonstrated a distinct pricing advantage, paying an average of $167,779 for a property in Q4 2025. This is 12.3% less than the $191,281 paid by traditional homeowners, translating to a $23,502 discount per home.

The price gap between landlords and homeowners has been extremely volatile throughout the year. While landlords paid a 10.2% premium in Q2, they achieved an extraordinary 56.0% discount ($130,657) in Q3, suggesting opportunistic buying.

Overall property values for investor acquisitions have been appreciating. The average price paid in 2025 ($140,435) is notably higher than the average during the 2020-2023 period ($121,715), reflecting broad market trends.

The Q4 discount of 12.3% suggests a stabilization in the market compared to the wild swings observed in the second and third quarters, pointing towards a more predictable purchasing environment.

Despite the pricing fluctuations, the consistent ability to acquire properties at or below homeowner prices indicates that landlords in Union County are adept at identifying value and negotiating favorable terms.

Landlords represented a major purchasing force in the Q4 2025 housing market, acquiring 12 of the 40 total SFRs sold in Union County for a 30.0% market share.

The entirety of this purchasing activity was driven by 'mom-and-pop' investors (1-10 properties), with zero acquisitions made by mid-size or institutional-scale landlords.

Market growth is being fueled by new entrants, as single-property landlords made up the largest group of buyers. This tier acquired 9 properties (75.0% of all landlord purchases) across 12 distinct new entities.

The data clearly shows that large-scale institutional investors were completely absent from the purchasing market in Q4, reinforcing that market dynamics are dictated by smaller, local players.

This concentration of activity among new and small landlords highlights a pattern of organic, grassroots growth in the local rental market rather than corporate consolidation.

The investor ownership structure in Union County is unequivocally dominated by small-scale operators. 'Mom-and-pop' landlords, defined as those owning 1-10 properties, control a combined 93.4% of all investor-held SFRs.

The single-property landlord tier is the bedrock of the market, alone accounting for 64.9% of all investor-owned housing with 672 properties.

In stark contrast to prevailing national narratives, institutional investors with portfolios exceeding 1,000 homes have absolutely no ownership stake (0.0%) in the Union County market.

Even mid-size investors (11-1000 properties) have a very small footprint, collectively owning just 6.6% of the investor portfolio, further emphasizing the market's highly fragmented nature.

This distribution reveals a market built on a wide base of individual investors rather than a consolidated structure controlled by a few large entities, suggesting a more community-based rental landscape.

Individual investors form the foundation of the market, representing the vast majority of owners in smaller portfolio tiers. They own 87.7% of single-property portfolios and over 75% of portfolios with 2 to 5 properties.

A significant shift occurs in the 6-10 property tier, which serves as the crossover point where companies (56.0%) become the majority property holders over individuals (44.0%).

This trend toward corporate ownership continues into the 11-20 property tier, where companies control a commanding 74.0% of the properties.

An unusual pattern emerges in the 21-50 property tier, where the trend reverses sharply and individuals once again become the dominant owners with a 79.3% share. This indicates the presence of a few, large-scale individual investors who have not incorporated.

This data illustrates a typical investor lifecycle: individuals start small, and as portfolios grow to 6+ properties, a shift toward a more formal corporate structure becomes common for liability and management purposes.

Investor ownership in Union County is not evenly distributed, but instead highly concentrated in a few key areas. The top three zip codes—42437, 42459, and 42461—collectively account for 94.4% of all investor-owned SFRs.

The 42437 zip code is the leader in terms of sheer volume, hosting 430 investor-owned properties. However, this represents a 21.0% ownership rate for that specific area.

In contrast, the 42461 zip code is the most saturated market. While it has fewer properties (144), investors own a significant 38.8% of all single-family residences there.

The zip code 42459 shows both high volume and high saturation, with 369 investor properties and an ownership rate of 26.6%.

This distinction between the largest market (42437 by count) and the most investor-dense market (42461 by percentage) reveals different strategic focal points for investment within the county.

Landlords are actively expanding their portfolios, posting a strong net-buyer position in Q4 2025. They purchased 16 properties while selling only 3, resulting in a buy-to-sell ratio of 5.33-to-1.

This accumulation strategy is a consistent, long-term trend. For the full year of 2025, landlords maintained a 6.38x buy-to-sell ratio (83 buys vs. 13 sells).

The net buying activity was even more pronounced in 2024, when landlords acquired 79 properties and sold just 6, an exceptionally high ratio of 13.17-to-1.

Purchase volume has remained remarkably stable year-over-year, with 83 acquisitions in 2025 nearly matching the 79 acquisitions from 2024, indicating steady, ongoing investment in the area.

Institutional investors with 1000+ properties were entirely absent from the transaction market, recording zero buys and zero sells across all timeframes.

In Q4 2025, landlord activity comprised a significant portion of the market, with investors involved in 16 of the 62 total SFR transactions, a share of 25.8%.

A distinct pricing pattern emerged among buyers: new, single-property investors paid the highest average price at $212,690. This is substantially more than the $52,333 and $65,000 paid by landlords in the 3-10 property tiers.

Sourcing strategies differ by investor size. Landlords in the 3-5 property tier appear to focus on acquiring existing rental stock, with 66.7% of their Q4 purchases coming from other landlords.

Conversely, new single-property investors sourced most of their homes from the open market, with only 16.7% of their acquisitions being inter-landlord transactions. This suggests they are more likely to compete with traditional homebuyers.

All 16 transactions were conducted by 'mom-and-pop' tiers, with institutional investors making no purchases, reinforcing that small investors are the sole drivers of transactional activity.