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

Investors own 1,016 SFR properties in MO-Macon County, representing a substantial 24.9% of the total SFR market of 4,077 properties. This highlights a significant investor presence in the local housing market.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the ownership landscape, controlling 976 (96.1%) of all investor-owned SFR properties, compared to only 40 (3.9%) held by companies. This pattern challenges the narrative of corporate dominance in MO-Macon County.

The vast majority of landlord entities are individuals, with 1,030 individual landlords versus just 31 company landlords, a ratio of over 33 individuals for every company. This signifies the prevalence of 'mom-and-pop' operations in the region.

Landlord portfolios are heavily rental-focused, with 981 properties (96.6% of investor-owned SFR) identified as rented. This indicates that almost all investor acquisitions are intended for rental income rather than personal use.

Cash acquisitions are the primary method for landlords in MO-Macon County, with 896 properties (88.2% of investor-owned SFR) purchased outright with cash, compared to only 120 properties (11.8%) that are financed. This suggests a low reliance on debt for property acquisition among investors.

Landlords exhibited no purchasing activity in Q4 2025, resulting in an average acquisition price of $nan compared to traditional homeowners who paid $217,813. This pause in landlord activity is a notable market observation for the quarter.

In the preceding quarter (Q3 2025), landlords demonstrated a significant pricing advantage, acquiring properties for an average of $173,825 – a 10.2% discount or $19,717 less than traditional homeowners who paid $193,542. This consistent discount highlights landlords' strategic buying power.

The landlord pricing advantage in MO-Macon County was even more pronounced earlier in 2025, with Q2 showing an $80,673 (47.7%) discount ($88,375 vs $169,048) and Q1 revealing a substantial $101,366 (51.5%) discount ($95,625 vs $196,991). This suggests landlords were securing exceptionally favorable deals earlier in the year.

Despite the lack of Q4 activity, the average acquisition price for landlords throughout Year 2025 was $135,735, showing a notable increase from the pandemic-era (2020-2023) average of $80,836. This indicates a 67.9% appreciation in landlord acquisition costs since the pandemic boom.

The trend of widening discounts from Q1 to Q3 (51.5% to 10.2%) suggests a gradual narrowing of the landlord pricing advantage as the year progressed, culminating in a complete halt of purchasing activity in Q4. This implies a shift in market conditions or landlord strategy.

Landlords accounted for a significant 37.5% of all SFR purchases in Q4 2025 in MO-Macon County, acquiring 3 properties out of a total of 8 transactions. This indicates a continued, albeit modest, investor presence in the market.

All landlord purchasing activity in Q4 2025 was exclusively from mom-and-pop investors (Tier 01-04), who acquired 3 properties, representing 100.0% of all landlord purchases. This highlights the foundational role of small-scale investors in the current market.

Specifically, all 3 landlord purchases in Q4 were made by single-property landlords (Tier 01), each representing a new entity entering the market or expanding their smallest portfolios. This signals a dynamic of individual small-scale investment.

Institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) showed no purchasing activity in MO-Macon County during Q4 2025, maintaining their 0.0% share of landlord purchases. This absence suggests a focus on other markets or a period of divestment.

The small number of landlord purchases (3 properties) and entities (3 entities) in Q4 suggests a cautious or limited entry by new, single-property landlords. The average properties per entity in Q4 for Tier 01 is 1.

Mom-and-pop landlords, comprising Tiers 01-04 (1-10 properties), collectively dominate investor-owned SFR in MO-Macon County, controlling an overwhelming 96.2% of the market. This underscores the fragmented and localized nature of the rental market.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) alone account for the largest share, owning 685 properties, which represents 64.6% of all investor-owned SFR. This highlights the significant role of first-time or small-scale investors in the region.

The distribution of ownership shows a steep drop-off after the mom-and-pop tiers; for example, Tiers 05-08 (11-1000 properties) hold a combined 3.8%, significantly less than the smallest tiers. This indicates a lack of mid-to-large scale portfolio accumulation.

Institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) have no presence in MO-Macon County, holding 0.0% of investor-owned SFR properties. This completely defies the national narrative of institutional dominance, indicating MO-Macon County is not a target for large-scale corporate investment.

The market structure in MO-Macon County is heavily skewed towards individual, small-scale investors, with 96.2% of properties held by portfolios of 10 properties or less. This suggests a low barrier to entry and a preference for local, owner-managed rental operations.

Individual investors maintain overwhelming dominance across all observed landlord tiers in MO-Macon County, consistently holding over 66% of properties in every tier. This pattern indicates a market primarily shaped by private, rather than corporate, capital.

In the most prevalent tier, single-property landlords (Tier 01), individual ownership accounts for 662 properties (96.6%), significantly overshadowing the 23 properties (3.4%) owned by companies. This establishes the foundation of the local rental market.

The individual investor majority persists even in larger portfolio tiers, such as Tier 06-10 where individuals own 57 properties (87.7%) versus companies owning 8 properties (12.3%). This trend demonstrates a consistent preference for individual ownership across different investor scales.

Notably, there is no observed crossover point where companies become the majority owners in any tier within MO-Macon County. Even in the 'Small-medium' Tier 11-20, individuals own 4 properties (66.7%) compared to companies owning 2 properties (33.3%), further solidifying individual investor prevalence.

The 'Small-medium' Tier 21-50 shows an even more pronounced individual dominance, with 33 properties (97.1%) held by individuals and only 1 property (2.9%) by a company. This highlights a market structure where larger individual portfolios are more common than company portfolios of similar size.

Investor-owned SFR properties in MO-Macon County are highly concentrated within specific zip codes, with MO-Macon-63552 leading significantly with 557 properties, representing 23.4% of its total SFR market. This highlights key areas for rental market focus.

While MO-Macon-63552 has the highest count of investor-owned properties, MO-Macon-63539 exhibits the highest investor ownership rate at 40.0%, indicating a very high proportion of rental housing within that zip code's smaller market. This distinction between absolute count and percentage rate is crucial for understanding market saturation.

The zip codes MO-Macon-63534 and MO-Macon-65247 appear in both the top 5 by count and top 5 by percentage, with 66 properties (35.3% rate) and 47 properties (29.7% rate) respectively. This dual presence suggests these areas are prime targets for investors, combining notable volume with high market penetration.

The presence of MO-Macon-63538 with a 35.5% investor ownership rate and MO-Macon-63558 with a 34.0% rate, despite not being in the top 5 by absolute count, signals highly saturated rental markets even if the total property inventory is lower. This indicates that a large portion of available housing in these areas is investor-controlled.

The variation across zip codes, from 18.8% in MO-Macon-63532 to 40.0% in MO-Macon-63539, illustrates diverse local market dynamics within MO-Macon County. This suggests that investment opportunities and rental market conditions can vary significantly even within a single county.

Landlords in MO-Macon County have demonstrated a strong appetite for acquisition, consistently acting as net buyers over the past two years and in Year 2025. In Year 2025, landlords purchased 47 properties while selling only 5, resulting in a net gain of 42 properties.

The buy-to-sell ratio for all landlords in Year 2025 stands at an aggressive 9.4x (47 buys vs 5 sells), indicating a robust expansion strategy rather than portfolio balancing or divestment. This signifies continued confidence in the local rental market.

A similar pattern was observed in Year 2024, where landlords purchased 46 properties and sold 9, for a net increase of 37 properties. This consistent net buying trend suggests sustained growth in the investor-owned housing stock in the county.

The most recent quarterly data available in this section, Q2 2025, shows landlords purchased 13 properties against 3 sales, maintaining a net buyer position with 10 additional properties. This confirms the ongoing accumulation trend.

Institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) have no recorded buy or sell transactions in MO-Macon County across any historical timeframe. This reinforces their complete absence from this local market, contrasting sharply with national investment trends.

Landlords were involved in 37.5% of all SFR transactions in MO-Macon County during Q4 2025, participating in 3 out of 8 total market transactions. This indicates a notable, though not dominant, share of market activity for investors.

All landlord transactions in Q4 2025 were exclusively attributed to single-property landlords (Tier 01), who completed 3 purchases. This highlights the entry or minor expansion of very small-scale investors as the primary driver of landlord activity this quarter.

Notably, none of the 3 landlord purchases in Q4 were acquired from other landlords (0.0% of transactions), suggesting that new inventory is coming from traditional homeowner sales rather than inter-investor trading. This implies fresh capital entering the market.

Mom-and-pop landlords (Tier 01-04) accounted for all 3 landlord transactions in Q4, while institutional investors (Tier 09) had no recorded transactions, aligning with their complete absence from the market. This reinforces the local market's reliance on small-scale players.

The average purchase price for single-property landlords in Q4 is $nan, due to the limited transaction volume. This indicates a quiet quarter for pricing data specifically from landlord purchases.