Beaufort (NC) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Investor ownership in Beaufort County accounts for 4,763 single-family residential properties, a significant 31.1% of the total 15,300 SFRs in the market.

Individual investors are the definitive force in the local rental market, holding 4,305 properties, which constitutes 90.4% of all investor-owned homes. Company-owned properties, by contrast, make up a much smaller share at 494 properties (10.4%).

The investor base is overwhelmingly composed of individuals, with 5,528 individual landlords compared to just 358 company landlords. This 15-to-1 ratio underscores the grassroots nature of SFR investment in the county.

A striking 93.7% of investor-owned properties (4,462 of 4,763) were acquired with cash, indicating a market dominated by well-capitalized investors or those with significant equity. Only 301 properties are currently financed.

The portfolio's purpose is clear, with 4,680 properties (98.3%) classified as rented or non-owner-occupied. This near-total focus on rental income generation highlights the business-oriented nature of these holdings.

In a dramatic market shift during Q4 2025, landlords paid an average price of $489,903, which was 138.2% higher than the traditional homeowner average of $205,632. This represents a massive premium of $284,271 per property.

This Q4 premium is a complete reversal of the trend seen throughout the rest of the year. In Q3, landlords secured a 6.5% discount ($21,619), and in Q2, they enjoyed a significant 23.1% discount ($92,964), suggesting a fundamental change in their buying behavior or the type of properties they targeted at year-end.

The Q1 2025 data shows an even steeper historical discount of 27.7%, where landlords paid $84,660 less than homeowners on average. The abrupt pivot to paying a high premium in Q4 defies the established pattern of investors finding off-market or value-add opportunities.

Despite the Q4 price surge, overall price appreciation from the 2020-2023 period (avg. $244,182) to the 2025 average ($308,682) shows a healthy 26.4% increase in acquisition costs for landlords over the long term.

The number of properties purchased each quarter in 2025 was zero according to the provided data, which contrasts with transaction data, suggesting the 2025 quarterly price data may be based on a very small and specific set of transactions driving the extreme Q4 premium.

Investors were a major force in the Beaufort County market in Q4 2025, purchasing 8 of the 20 total SFRs sold, which translates to a 40.0% market share of all acquisitions.

The activity was entirely concentrated at the small-scale level, with mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties) responsible for 7 of the 8 purchases (87.5% of investor activity). Institutional investors with over 1,000 properties made zero acquisitions.

The market saw an influx of new investors, as the single-property tier alone accounted for 7 properties purchased by 11 new landlord entities. This indicates a growing base of first-time investors rather than consolidation by large players.

The remaining investor purchase was made by a mid-size landlord in the 11-20 property tier, further highlighting the absence of large-scale buyers in the fourth quarter.

The data clearly shows that the new capital flowing into Beaufort County's rental market is from small, local investors, reinforcing the mom-and-pop dominance in both holdings and new activity.

The investor landscape in Beaufort County is overwhelmingly dominated by small-scale operators. Mom-and-pop landlords, defined as those owning 1-10 properties, control a massive 97.2% of all investor-owned SFRs.

Single-property landlords form the bedrock of the market, with 3,769 properties making up 75.8% of the entire investor portfolio. This demonstrates that the typical investor is not a large corporation but an individual with one rental home.

In stark contrast, institutional investors (1,000+ properties) have a barely detectable presence, owning just 3 properties, which equates to only 0.1% of the investor-held housing stock. This challenges any narrative of a corporate takeover in the local market.

Mid-size landlords (11-1,000 properties) also hold a small fraction of the market, collectively owning just 137 properties or 2.8% of the investor portfolio.

The ownership distribution is heavily skewed towards the smallest investors, with 93.8% of all investor-owned properties held by landlords with five or fewer homes, solidifying the market's grassroots character.

Individual investors form the foundation of the rental market, overwhelmingly owning smaller portfolios. They account for 94.5% of single-property holdings and 91.2% of two-property portfolios.

A clear crossover point emerges as portfolios grow. In the 6-10 property tier, ownership is nearly split, with individuals at 50.9% and companies at 49.1%. This tier represents the turning point where corporate structures become common.

Beyond ten properties, company ownership becomes dominant. In the 11-20 property tier, companies own 68 homes (76.4%), while individuals own just 21 (23.6%).

Similarly, in the 21-50 property tier, companies hold a 51.3% majority, indicating that scaling operations often correlates with incorporation.

This pattern reveals a distinct market structure: individuals initiate investment at small scales, but growth into larger portfolios is primarily achieved through corporate entities, likely for liability and operational efficiency.

Investor activity in Beaufort County is highly concentrated, with the top three zip codes by count (27817, 27814, and 27865) holding a combined 1,035 properties.

The zip code 27817 is the clear leader in sheer volume, containing 542 investor-owned SFRs. This area represents the largest single concentration of rental properties in the county.

When measured by market penetration, a different picture emerges. The 27821 zip code has the highest rate of investor ownership at 57.0%, meaning investors own more than half of the SFRs in that area despite it having only 53 investor properties total.

Other areas with high investor saturation include 27962 (44.0%), 27814 (42.4%), and 27808 (40.9%), indicating specific neighborhoods where rental properties are exceptionally common.

The data highlights that the areas with the most investor properties are not necessarily the ones with the highest percentage of investor ownership, pointing to different market dynamics across the county's zip codes.

Landlords in Beaufort County demonstrated a strong appetite for acquisitions throughout 2025, consistently acting as net buyers. In Q4, they purchased 12 SFRs while selling only 1, a buy-to-sell ratio of 12-to-1.

This net buyer status was a year-long trend. In 2025, landlords acquired 118 properties while only selling 33, resulting in a net portfolio expansion of 85 homes across the county.

The activity in 2024 was even more aggressive, with 244 buys versus 48 sells, for a net gain of 196 properties. While the pace of acquisition has moderated in 2025, the overall strategy of portfolio growth continues.

Q4 2025 saw a slowdown in transaction volume (12 buys) compared to the preceding quarters of Q2 (37 buys) and Q3 (42 buys). However, the extremely low number of sales in Q4 kept the net acquisition figure strongly positive.

Institutional investors recorded no transactions in any period, meaning all buying and selling activity tracked was conducted by small and mid-size landlords, who are actively expanding their local footprint.

In Q4 2025, landlords were a pivotal part of the market, involved in 12 of the 27 total SFR transactions, a market share of 44.4%.

Activity was almost exclusively driven by the smallest investors. The single-property tier accounted for 11 of the 12 landlord transactions, showing that new or first-time investors were the most active buyers.

These small mom-and-pop buyers paid a high average purchase price of $509,440. The only other active tier, small-medium landlords (11-20 properties), paid a much lower average of $275,000 for their single transaction.

Institutional investors (1000+ properties) were entirely inactive, recording zero transactions and paying an average price of $0. This highlights a market completely devoid of large-scale corporate buying in Q4.

A significant finding is that 0% of investor purchases were sourced from other landlords. This lack of inter-landlord trading suggests investors are acquiring properties from traditional homeowners rather than trading assets among themselves.