DeKalb (MO) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Landlords collectively own 529 SFR properties in DeKalb County, which constitutes a substantial 32.7% of the total 1,620 SFR properties in the market, indicating a significant investor presence.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the landlord-owned SFR market, holding 450 properties, or 85.1% of the total, while company-owned properties account for 84 properties, or 15.9%.

The prevalence of individual ownership is further underscored by entity counts, with 540 individual landlords compared to just 64 company landlords, establishing an 8.44:1 ratio of individual to company entities in the county.

A striking 99.2% of all landlord-owned SFR properties (525 out of 529) are rented, confirming that the vast majority of investor holdings in DeKalb County are actively generating rental income rather than being held for other purposes.

Cash acquisitions are the preferred method of property ownership among landlords, with 433 properties held outright in cash, significantly outpacing the 96 properties that are financed, signaling a strong preference for unencumbered assets.

The high percentage of rented properties combined with a robust cash ownership indicates a stable and income-focused investor base, less reliant on fluctuating financing markets for their rental portfolios.

Landlords in DeKalb County consistently secure properties at a significant discount compared to traditional homeowners; in Q4 2025, they paid an average of $150,419, which is $134,584 less, or a 47.2% discount, than the homeowner average of $285,003.

The landlord price advantage has been volatile quarter-over-quarter, with the discount widening from 16.3% ($36,674) in Q2 2025 to a substantial 65.9% ($143,938) in Q3 2025, before narrowing to 47.2% in Q4 2025.

Despite the quarter-to-quarter fluctuations, the consistent double-digit percentage discounts underscore landlords' ability to identify and acquire properties at favorable prices relative to the broader market in DeKalb County.

Comparing acquisition prices from the pandemic era, the average landlord price of $149,866 between 2020-2023 has seen a modest appreciation to $150,419 in Q4 2025, representing a minor 0.37% increase.

The average landlord acquisition price for Year 2025 stands at $152,537, indicating a slight decrease compared to the average of $184,771 recorded for Year 2024, suggesting a cooling or more selective buying environment.

Landlords in DeKalb County significantly increased their market share in Q4 2025, capturing 9 of the 17 total SFR purchases, which represents a substantial 52.9% of all properties sold during the quarter.

Mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties) were the exclusive drivers of Q4 purchasing activity, acquiring all 8 of the properties bought by landlords in Tiers 01-04, representing 88.9% of total landlord purchases, with institutional investors showing no Q4 purchase activity.

New single-property landlords (Tier 01) were particularly active, with 8 entities collectively purchasing 6 properties, making them the most dominant group for Q4 acquisitions and signaling a continued influx of small-scale investors.

The highest concentration of Q4 activity stems from the single-property landlords (Tier 01), who accounted for 66.7% of all landlord purchases, followed by two-property and small (3-5 properties) landlords each at 11.1% of activity.

The average properties per entity in Q4 purchasing activity suggests a diverse acquisition strategy, with Tier 01 entities averaging 0.75 properties, while entities in Tiers 3-5 and 21-50 each acquired one property on average, indicating focused expansion by some mid-size landlords.

The absence of institutional investor (Tier 09) purchases in Q4 underscores a local market primarily shaped by smaller, individual-driven investment, diverging from narratives of large-scale corporate buying.

Mom-and-pop landlords, encompassing Tiers 01 through 04 (1-10 properties), collectively dominate the DeKalb County investor market by controlling a remarkable 98.7% of all investor-owned SFR properties, totaling 528 properties.

The vast majority of investor-owned housing is held by single-property landlords (Tier 01), who account for 424 properties, representing 79.3% of the entire landlord-owned portfolio.

In stark contrast to mom-and-pop dominance, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) hold a negligible share, owning only 3 properties, which translates to a mere 0.6% of the investor-owned market.

The distribution of ownership shows a steep drop-off after the smallest tiers; Tier 02 (two properties) holds 10.5% (56 properties), and Tier 03-05 (3-5 properties) holds 6.7% (36 properties), confirming the market's heavy reliance on smaller-scale investors.

Mid-size landlords (Tiers 11-20 and 21-50) maintain a minimal presence, with 1 and 2 properties respectively, further emphasizing the limited scale of diversified portfolios in DeKalb County.

This extreme concentration of properties within the mom-and-pop segment suggests that individual investors remain the primary force shaping the rental housing market in DeKalb County, contrary to perceptions of widespread institutional control.

Individual ownership strongly predominates in the smaller portfolio tiers, accounting for 391 properties (91.1%) in the single-property (Tier 01) segment and 45 properties (80.4%) in the two-property (Tier 02) segment.

A significant shift occurs at the 6-10 property tier, where companies become the majority owners, holding 11 properties (91.7%) compared to individuals who own just 1 property (8.3%), indicating this as the crossover point for ownership type dominance.

Even in the small landlord (3-5 properties) tier, individual investors still maintain a slight majority, owning 19 properties (52.8%) versus companies holding 17 properties (47.2%).

The data reveals a clear pattern: individual investors form the foundation of the smallest investor portfolios, gradually ceding dominance to company entities as portfolio size expands into the mid-range tiers.

The highest concentration of company ownership within the provided data is observed in the 6-10 property tier, where they own over 90% of the properties, demonstrating their preference or capability for slightly larger-scale holdings.

Conversely, the highest individual concentration is unequivocally found in the single-property tier, solidifying the 'mom-and-pop' archetype as driven by individual investors starting with one property.

The zip code MO-DeKalb-64469 is the epicenter of investor activity in DeKalb County, boasting the highest number of investor-owned properties at 153, representing 38.9% of its SFR market.

While MO-DeKalb-64469 leads in property count, MO-DeKalb-64497 shows the most intense investor penetration, with a significant 65.5% of its SFR properties being investor-owned, indicating a highly concentrated landlord presence.

Other key areas for investor concentration by count include MO-DeKalb-64429 with 105 properties (24.4% ownership rate) and MO-DeKalb-64490 with 87 properties (29.9% ownership rate), highlighting a multi-faceted geographic spread of investor holdings.

The top 5 regions by investor ownership percentage, ranging from 31.4% to 65.5%, demonstrate varied levels of market saturation, with MO-DeKalb-64497 standing out as a particularly landlord-heavy market.

There's a clear overlap between regions with high investor property counts and high ownership rates, as MO-DeKalb-64469 and MO-DeKalb-64494 appear in both top 5 lists, signifying strong correlation in these specific sub-geographies.

The data indicates distinct pockets of investor focus within DeKalb County, with some areas attracting a higher volume of properties and others experiencing a higher proportion of investor ownership relative to their total SFR inventory.

All landlords in DeKalb County are firmly in a net buyer position for Year 2025, acquiring 55 properties while selling only 12, resulting in a strong buy/sell ratio of 4.58x and a net accumulation of 43 properties.

This buying trend is consistent quarter-over-quarter, with landlords being net buyers in Q4 (13 buys vs 4 sells, net 9), Q3 (8 buys vs 3 sells, net 5), and Q2 (23 buys vs 4 sells, net 19), signaling continuous market accumulation.

Comparing Year 2025 to Year 2024, landlords have increased their buying activity from 42 properties in 2024 to 55 in 2025, while selling volumes remained stable at 11 and 12 properties respectively, indicating accelerated acquisition.

Institutional investors (1000+ tier) exhibit a strikingly different transaction pattern; in Year 2025, they registered 1 buy and 1 sell, resulting in a net position of 0 properties, which the data labels as a 'net seller' despite the balanced transactions, suggesting no market accumulation from this segment.

The highest acquisition velocity for landlords occurred in Q2 2025, with 23 properties bought, which represents a significant peak in buying activity compared to 8 in Q3 and 13 in Q4, showing a mid-year surge.

The persistent net buying behavior by overall landlords, coupled with the neutral stance of institutional investors, highlights that smaller investors are the primary drivers of market growth and property accumulation in DeKalb County.

Landlords were directly involved in exactly half of all SFR transactions in DeKalb County during Q4 2025, completing 13 out of 26 total transactions, underscoring their significant market presence and influence.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) dominated Q4 transaction volumes, accounting for 8 transactions, which is the highest activity among all tiers and signifies their active role in market fluidity.

Pricing strategies varied dramatically across tiers; Tier 01 landlords paid the highest average purchase price at $185,840, while Tier 02 landlords secured properties at a considerably lower average of $44,156, indicating distinct acquisition approaches or property types targeted.

Inter-landlord trading was particularly high within the two-property (Tier 02) segment, where 100% of their 2 transactions involved purchasing from other landlords, suggesting a localized or specialized sub-market.

In contrast, single-property landlords (Tier 01) acquired 0% of their properties from other landlords, demonstrating a preference for sourcing properties from non-investor sellers.

The significant price spread of $141,684 between Tier 01's average purchase price ($185,840) and Tier 02's ($44,156) highlights a diverse market where property values vary widely depending on the investor size and their acquisition targets.

The distribution of Q4 transaction activity largely mirrors the overall ownership structure, with mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) collectively performing 11 transactions, while institutional investors (Tier 09) registered no transactions.