Tate (MS) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Landlords in MS-Tate County collectively own 1,527 Single Family Residential (SFR) properties, accounting for 19.1% of the total 7,975 SFR properties in the market. This reveals a substantial portion of the housing market is dedicated to rental investments.

Individual investors are the backbone of the landlord market, owning 1,161 properties, which represents 76.0% of all investor-held SFR. Company-owned properties stand at 371, or 24.3% of the total investor portfolio, demonstrating a clear individual investor dominance in property count.

The prevalence of individual ownership extends to entities, with 1,388 individual landlords compared to 222 company landlords, resulting in a 6.25:1 ratio. This indicates that the vast majority of investment activity comes from smaller-scale, often local, investors.

The portfolio exhibits a strong rental focus, with 1,487 properties (97.4% of investor-owned SFR) identified as rented. This high proportion underscores the primary objective of these holdings as income-generating rentals rather than speculative investments.

Cash acquisitions significantly outweigh financed purchases among landlords, with 1,365 properties bought with cash versus only 162 properties that are financed. This suggests a preference for unencumbered assets or a strong capital base among investors in the county.

In Q4 2025, landlords in MS-Tate County paid an average of $283,469 for SFR properties, achieving a 10.0% discount compared to traditional homeowners who paid $314,978. This represents a significant saving of $31,509 per property for landlord-purchased homes.

The pricing advantage for landlords has shown considerable quarter-over-quarter variability. The discount was exceptionally high in Q1 (58.5% or $205,143) and Q2 (49.7% or $167,075) of 2025, before narrowing sharply to 3.0% ($9,025) in Q3 and settling at 10.0% in Q4. This fluctuating gap suggests dynamic market conditions and changing competitive pressures.

Despite the consistent price data, landlord acquisition data for individual quarters in 2025 (Q1-Q3) and Q4 2024 showed zero distinct properties purchased. This indicates a significant period of low or absent acquisition activity from landlords, making the Q4 2025 activity notable.

The average acquisition price for landlords shows an upward trend across 2025, from $145,507 in Q1 to $283,469 in Q4, reflecting market appreciation. Comparatively, all SFR purchasers saw their average price increase from $350,650 in Q1 to $314,978 in Q4, indicating overall market shifts.

From 2020-2023, the average landlord acquisition price was $214,186. The Q4 2025 price of $283,469 represents a 32.3% appreciation since the pandemic era, highlighting significant value growth in the county's SFR market.

In Q4 2025, landlords in MS-Tate County were significant players in the housing market, purchasing 23 SFR properties. This accounted for 33.8% of the total 68 SFR purchases made in the quarter, underscoring their active role.

Mom-and-pop landlords, encompassing Tiers 01-04 (1-10 properties), were the dominant force in Q4 acquisitions. They purchased 19 properties, representing 82.6% of all landlord purchases, demonstrating their continued importance in market activity.

In stark contrast to mom-and-pop activity, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) made only 1 purchase in Q4, representing a mere 4.3% of total landlord acquisitions. This indicates a minimal presence of large-scale corporate buying in the county's recent market.

The single-property landlord tier (Tier 01) was the most active, acquiring 17 properties, which constituted 73.9% of all landlord purchases. These purchases involved 22 distinct entities, suggesting a strong influx of new or expanding small-scale investors into the market.

The remaining landlord purchases were distributed among other tiers, with small landlords (3-5 properties) and small-medium (21-50 properties) each acquiring 2 properties (8.7% each), and large landlords (101-1000 properties) making 1 purchase (4.3%). This distribution highlights broad participation across smaller and mid-sized investor segments, though heavily skewed towards the smallest.

Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04, 1-10 properties) overwhelmingly dominate the investor-owned SFR market in MS-Tate County, controlling 92.8% of the total 1,565 investor-owned properties. This significant concentration reveals the market is primarily driven and sustained by smaller, individual investors.

The single-property landlord tier (Tier 01) forms the largest segment of this dominance, holding 1,099 properties or 70.2% of all investor-owned SFR. This makes new and first-time landlords the foundational element of the county's rental housing supply.

In stark contrast, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) have a minimal footprint, owning just 1 property, which accounts for a mere 0.1% of the total investor-owned SFR. This defies common narratives of institutional market takeover, at least within this specific county.

The distribution of properties across tiers shows a steep decline as portfolio size increases: after Tier 01's 70.2%, Tier 02 holds 6.6% (104 properties), Tier 03-05 holds 12.2% (191 properties), and Tier 06-10 holds 3.8% (59 properties). This rapid drop-off underscores the market's fragmentation among many smaller players.

Data regarding acquisition prices by tier for all timeframes, including Q4 2025 and 2024, is not available. Therefore, insights into how larger investors' purchasing strategies or price points differ from smaller landlords cannot be determined from the provided dataset.

The ownership landscape shifts significantly as portfolio sizes grow, with individual investors dominating smaller tiers while companies gain ascendancy in larger segments. Individual landlords hold 85.4% of single-property (Tier 01) portfolios (941 properties) and 79.8% of two-property (Tier 02) portfolios (83 properties), clearly forming the bedrock of the smaller rental market.

The crossover point where companies become the majority owner occurs within the 'Small-medium' Tier 05-08 (11-20 properties). Here, companies own 19 properties (86.4%), dramatically outnumbering individuals who own just 3 properties (13.6%). This marks a strategic shift in market control at mid-sized portfolio levels.

Company ownership steadily increases across the smaller tiers, growing from 14.6% in Tier 01 to 20.2% in Tier 02, then to 27.7% in Tier 03-05, and reaching 47.5% in Tier 06-10. This trend indicates a gradual increase in corporate presence as portfolios expand, culminating in majority ownership at the 11-20 property tier.

The data provided for individual vs. company ownership extends only up to the 11-20 properties tier. Information regarding the breakdown of ownership by type in larger tiers (21-50, 51-100, 101-1000, and 1000+) is not available, limiting a complete understanding of institutional ownership structures.

Acquisition pricing differences between individual and company buyers within each tier, and their respective growth patterns over time, cannot be determined from the current dataset. This limits insights into their differing investment strategies and market dynamics.

Investor-owned SFR properties in MS-Tate County are highly concentrated within a few zip codes. The top two regions, MS-Tate-38668 and MS-Tate-38618, together account for 1,431 properties. This represents an overwhelming 93.7% of the county's 1,527 investor-owned properties, signaling significant geographic focus.

While MS-Tate-38668 leads in sheer volume with 725 investor-owned properties, MS-Tate-38635 shows the highest investor ownership rate at 25.4%. This highlights a contrast where some smaller regions have a very high proportion of investor-owned housing, despite lower absolute counts.

MS-Tate-38618 is also a major hub for investor activity, with 706 properties under investor ownership and a high ownership rate of 20.8%. This suggests that both high-count and high-percentage regions are present within the county, but the largest volumes are in two distinct areas.

The remaining zip codes listed, MS-Tate-38665 (73 properties, 15.4% rate) and MS-Tate-38635 (17 properties, 25.4% rate), contribute a much smaller volume to the total investor-owned properties. This further reinforces the highly localized nature of investor presence within MS-Tate.

Acquisition prices for properties within these specific geographic regions are not provided in the dataset. Therefore, a comparative analysis of how property values or investment costs vary across these concentrated areas cannot be conducted.

Landlords in MS-Tate County are consistently strong net buyers of SFR properties, demonstrating a significant accumulation trend. In 2025, they collectively purchased 141 properties while selling only 14, resulting in an impressive buy/sell ratio of 10.07x.

This aggressive buying behavior intensified from 2024 to 2025; annual purchases rose from 108 to 141, concurrently, annual sales decreased from 31 to 14. This indicates a robust and sustained commitment to expanding landlord portfolios within the county.

Institutional investors (1000+ properties) show a markedly different transaction pattern. While they were net buyers in 2024 (5 buys vs 4 sells), they maintained a neutral position in 2025 with 1 buy and 1 sell, suggesting a pause in large-scale expansion or active portfolio management rather than accumulation.

Quarterly data for all landlords highlights this consistent buying strategy: Q4 2025 saw 28 buys vs 2 sells, Q3 had 38 buys vs 5 sells, and Q2 had 33 buys vs 5 sells. Each quarter shows a significant surplus of acquisitions over dispositions, contributing to continuous growth in rental inventory.

Data on the percentage of transactions occurring between landlords (inter-landlord trades) is not available for historical transactions. Additionally, average buy prices compared to average sell prices are not provided, which limits insights into implied profit margins or market liquidity for divestments.

Landlords were involved in 28.9% of all SFR transactions in Q4 2025, accounting for 28 out of 97 total transactions in MS-Tate County. This indicates a substantial presence in the market's overall sales activity, though they are not the sole drivers.

A notable finding is the complete absence of inter-landlord trading activity in Q4 2025. Across all reported tiers, 0.0% of landlord purchases were acquired from other landlords, suggesting that landlords primarily buy from non-landlord sellers.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) were the most active segment in Q4 transactions, completing 22 purchases at an average price of $324,023. This tier's high activity and relatively high average price indicate strong demand from new or small-scale investors.

Other mom-and-pop tiers also contributed to Q4 transaction volume, with small landlords (3-5 properties) completing 2 transactions at an average price of $154,512. This lower price point suggests different acquisition strategies or property types favored by this segment compared to single-property buyers.

Institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) had a minimal impact on Q4 transactions, with only 1 transaction recorded. The average purchase price for this transaction is not available, limiting direct price comparisons with other tiers.

The wide price spread between Tier 01 ($324,023) and other active mom-and-pop tiers like Tier 03-05 ($154,512) reveals diverse pricing strategies or market segments within the landlord community. Smaller portfolios might target higher-value individual properties, while slightly larger ones acquire lower-priced assets.