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

In Scott County, landlords collectively own 4,127 Single Family Residential (SFR) properties, accounting for a substantial 30.0% of the total SFR market of 13,752 properties. This indicates a significant presence of investors within the local housing landscape.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the ownership landscape, holding 3,069 SFR properties, which represents 74.4% of the total investor-owned portfolio. In contrast, company-owned SFR properties account for 1,125 units, or 27.3% of the portfolio.

The prevalence of individual investors is further highlighted by entity counts, with 3,743 individual landlords making up 87.3% of all 4,287 landlords in Scott County. This contrasts sharply with company landlords, who number 544 entities, representing 12.7%.

A striking 98.0% of landlord-owned properties are non-owner-occupied, totaling 4,044 units, signaling a strong focus on rental income within the investor community. This high percentage underscores the market's role as a rental-centric investment opportunity.

The majority of these investor-owned properties, 3,485 units (84.4%), were acquired via cash transactions, minimizing reliance on financing. Only 642 properties (15.6%) are financed, suggesting a preference for unencumbered assets or strong capital liquidity among investors.

The data reveals a significant ratio of individual to company landlords by entity count, with individual landlords outnumbering companies by more than 6-to-1 (3,743 vs 544). This further emphasizes the fragmented, mom-and-pop driven nature of the investor market in Scott County.

In Q4 2025, landlords in Scott County secured SFR properties at an average price of $179,986, representing a notable 15.8% discount compared to the average $213,828 paid by traditional homeowners. This highlights landlords' consistent ability to acquire properties below market average.

The price gap between landlords and homeowners has shown considerable quarterly volatility throughout 2025. The landlord discount widened significantly from 22.3% ($52,545) in Q1 to a peak of 32.6% ($68,534) in Q2 2025, before narrowing to 20.5% ($41,444) in Q3 and settling at 15.8% in Q4.

Despite these fluctuations, landlords consistently paid less than traditional homeowners across all quarters in 2025. The average discount ranged from $33,842 in Q4 to $68,534 in Q2, demonstrating a clear and persistent pricing advantage for investor buyers.

The most substantial discount was observed in Q2 2025, where landlords paid $141,957 compared to homeowners' $210,491, a difference of $68,534. This indicates periods where landlords achieved exceptionally favorable acquisition terms.

Looking at the overall trends, while precise property acquisition counts for landlords are shown as 0 for these specific timeframes, the provided price comparisons clearly demonstrate that landlords consistently execute strategies to purchase properties at a lower price point than owner-occupants, a critical advantage in a competitive market.

Landlords were highly active in Q4 2025, acquiring 91 SFR properties out of a total of 214 purchases, representing a significant 42.5% share of the market. This indicates a strong and sustained investor interest in Scott County's housing.

Mom-and-pop landlords, encompassing Tiers 01-04, collectively dominated purchasing activity, responsible for 83 properties which constituted an overwhelming 87.4% of all landlord acquisitions this quarter. This group remains the primary driver of investor purchases.

The single-property landlord tier (Tier 01) was particularly vibrant, with 60 entities purchasing 41 properties, making up 43.2% of all landlord purchases. This substantial entry of new, small-scale investors underscores the accessibility and appeal of the SFR market for first-time or limited portfolio owners.

In stark contrast to mom-and-pop activity, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) made a comparatively minor impact, acquiring just 6 properties, accounting for 6.3% of landlord purchases. This highlights the limited presence and buying activity of large-scale corporate investors in Scott County.

The average properties per entity varied by tier, with Tier 01 entities purchasing less than one property on average (41 properties by 60 entities), reflecting new or single property additions. Conversely, the more established tiers like 6-10 properties saw 4 entities acquire 11 properties (an average of 2.75 properties per entity), indicating more concentrated buying.

Mom-and-pop landlords, defined as those owning 1-10 properties (Tiers 01-04), overwhelmingly dominate the investor-owned SFR market in Scott County, controlling 3,849 properties which accounts for 88.6% of the total 4,127 investor-owned units. This signifies a highly fragmented market largely driven by small-scale investors.

Specifically, single-property landlords (Tier 01) represent the largest segment, owning 2,553 properties, which alone constitutes 58.7% of all investor-owned SFR. This highlights the foundational role of first-time or single-property investors in the local market.

In stark contrast, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) hold a negligible share, owning only 10 properties, which translates to a mere 0.2% of the investor-owned market. This challenges the narrative of widespread corporate ownership in Scott County.

The distribution across other tiers further emphasizes the small-to-mid-size investor focus. Tiers 02 (2 properties), 03-05 (3-5 properties), and 06-10 (6-10 properties) collectively hold 8.7% (380 properties), 13.3% (576 properties), and 7.8% (340 properties) respectively, solidifying the mom-and-pop dominance.

Even the larger mid-size tiers, such as 11-20 properties and 21-50 properties, represent relatively small portions of the market at 6.0% (261 properties) and 3.9% (168 properties) respectively. This indicates that while larger portfolios exist, they do not coalesce into significant market control.

The data clearly illustrates that the SFR investment market in Scott County is primarily sustained by thousands of individual small-portfolio landlords, with limited influence from large institutional players.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the smallest portfolio sizes in Scott County. In the single-property tier (Tier 01), individuals own 2,263 properties, representing a significant 87.1% share, compared to companies which hold 336 properties (12.9%).

The crossover point where companies become the majority owners occurs at the 6-10 property tier (Tier 04). Here, company ownership rises to 208 properties, comprising 61.2% of the tier, while individual ownership drops to 132 properties (38.8%).

This trend of increasing company dominance with portfolio size continues into the next tier. For portfolios of 11-20 properties (Tier 05), companies own 180 properties (69.0%), further solidifying their control over mid-sized portfolios, while individuals hold 81 properties (31.0%).

Even in the 21-50 property tier (Tier 06), companies maintain a slight majority, owning 88 properties (52.4%) compared to individuals who hold 80 properties (47.6%). This demonstrates a clear shift in ownership structure as portfolio size increases.

Conversely, individual investors maintain a strong majority in the two-property (Tier 02) and small landlord (3-5 properties, Tier 03) tiers, holding 78.4% (301 properties) and 70.8% (412 properties) respectively. This underscores the fragmented, individual-driven nature of the foundational investor market.

Investor-owned properties are heavily concentrated in specific zip codes within Scott County. MO-Scott-63801 leads significantly with 1,951 investor-owned SFR properties, which constitutes 28.0% of the total SFR market in that zip code, making it the primary hub for investor activity.

Following MO-Scott-63801, other key regions by property count include MO-Scott-63780 with 546 properties (23.1% rate), MO-Scott-63740 with 369 properties (23.3% rate), MO-Scott-63771 with 362 properties (37.1% rate), and MO-Scott-63736 with 359 properties (32.3% rate). These top 5 areas collectively account for a substantial portion of the county's investor-owned portfolio.

Beyond sheer volume, some zip codes demonstrate near-total investor saturation. MO-Scott-63701 shows 100.0% investor ownership, followed closely by MO-Scott-63774 at 96.6%, MO-Scott-63742 at 92.9%, MO-Scott-63784 at 88.9%, and MO-Scott-63758 at 88.1%. These high percentages reveal areas where the housing stock is almost exclusively investor-held.

A notable pattern emerges when comparing count leaders to percentage leaders: areas with the highest number of investor-owned properties (e.g., MO-Scott-63801 at 28.0%) do not necessarily correspond to those with the highest investor ownership rates (e.g., MO-Scott-63701 at 100.0%). This suggests different types of investor hotspots – some with high volume in larger markets, others with near-complete penetration in smaller, possibly niche, markets.

The geographic distribution indicates that while investor activity is widespread across Scott County, it is strategically concentrated, pointing to targeted investment within specific local markets.

Landlords in Scott County consistently maintained a strong net buyer position in Q4 2025, executing 116 buy transactions against 43 sell transactions, resulting in a buy/sell ratio of 2.69x. This indicates a continued expansion of investor portfolios.

This trend of accumulation is sustained throughout 2025, with landlords collectively buying 407 properties and selling 94, yielding a robust net increase of 313 properties and a buy/sell ratio of 4.33x for the year. The preceding year, 2024, also showed significant net buying, with 341 buys vs 76 sells (4.49x ratio).

Institutional investors (1000+ tier) exhibited a more dynamic transaction pattern. After being net sellers in Year 2024 (3 buys vs 6 sells, a 0.5x ratio), they shifted to net buyer status in Q4 2025 (6 buys vs 1 sell, a 6.0x ratio) and for the full Year 2025 (11 buys vs 3 sells, a 3.67x ratio).

The overall market for all landlords shows strong liquidity and growth, with substantial transaction volumes driving continued portfolio expansion. This sustained buying activity indicates ongoing confidence in the Scott County real estate market.

The contrasting behavior of institutional investors—shifting from divestment in 2024 to accumulation in 2025—suggests a responsive and adaptive strategy to changing market conditions, though their overall transaction volume remains low compared to the broader landlord market.

Landlords were key players in the Q4 2025 transaction landscape in Scott County, participating in 116 transactions out of a total of 306, which accounts for a substantial 37.9% of all SFR transactions. This confirms their active role in market fluidity.

A significant price disparity is evident across investor tiers. Single-property landlords (Tier 01) paid the highest average price at $232,741 per transaction. In stark contrast, institutional investors (1000+ tier) secured properties at a much lower average of $68,712, representing a substantial 70.5% discount compared to Tier 01 buyers.

Transaction volumes varied across tiers, with single-property landlords (Tier 01) leading with 60 transactions. Small landlord tiers (3-5 properties) also showed notable activity with 20 transactions, and institutional investors (1000+ tier) completed 6 transactions.

Inter-landlord trading played a crucial role for larger investors. The large landlord tier (101-1000 properties) sourced 100.0% of its 2 transactions from other landlords, while institutional investors (1000+ tier) bought 66.7% (4 out of 6) of their properties from other investors.

The data suggests that smaller, potentially less sophisticated, investors (Tier 01) are paying premium prices, possibly due to less negotiating power or different investment strategies. Meanwhile, larger, more experienced investors are able to acquire properties at significantly lower price points, often through inter-landlord channels.

The average purchase price for small landlords (3-5 properties) was $95,966, further demonstrating a strategic price advantage compared to single-property buyers, but still higher than institutional prices. This indicates varied pricing strategies and market access across investor segments.