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

Investors hold a significant 21.2% share of the single-family residential market in Camden County, with a total portfolio of 836 properties.

The local market is characterized by individual ownership, as individual landlords own 737 properties (88.2%), decisively outnumbering the 110 properties (13.2%) held by companies.

A strong indicator of investor liquidity is the preference for all-cash holdings. Investors own 679 properties outright, compared to just 157 that are financed, showing a deep-capitalized investor base.

The portfolio is actively managed for rental income, with 818 properties currently rented, which constitutes 97.8% of the entire investor-owned SFR stock in the county.

The investor landscape is composed of 1,016 distinct landlord entities, with 940 being individuals and 76 being companies, reinforcing the dominance of small-scale, individual operators over corporate entities.

In Q4 2025, landlords demonstrated significant purchasing power, acquiring properties for an average of $316,550, which is 45.9% less than the $585,473 paid by traditional homeowners—a striking discount of $268,923 per property.

The price gap between landlords and homeowners has widened dramatically throughout the year. The discount grew from 9.8% in Q1 to 41.0% in Q3, culminating in the 45.9% advantage in Q4.

An anomaly occurred in Q2 2025 when landlords paid a 26.2% premium, averaging $601,250 per purchase compared to the homeowner average of $476,346, indicating a possible focus on a small number of high-value assets during that period.

Despite the discounts, average acquisition prices for landlords in 2025 ($385,392) show a notable increase from the pandemic-era average of $273,263 (2020-2023), reflecting overall market appreciation.

Investors were a considerable force in the Q4 2025 market, purchasing 7 of the 37 total SFR properties sold, capturing a 18.9% market share of all acquisitions.

The backbone of Q4 investor activity was small-scale landlords, with those in the mom-and-pop tiers (1-10 properties) responsible for 6 of the 7 investor purchases (85.7%).

New investors entering the market or existing small investors expanding their portfolios were key drivers, as single-property landlords alone bought 6 properties, representing 85.7% of landlord buying activity.

While small investors dominated volume, an institutional-level investor (1,000+ properties) also remained active, acquiring one property and accounting for 14.3% of the quarter's landlord purchases.

The influx of new capital is evident from the 10 distinct entities that made purchases within the single-property tier, signaling continued growth at the smallest end of the investor spectrum.

The investor landscape in Camden County is overwhelmingly dominated by small landlords. Mom-and-pop investors (1-10 properties) own a combined 94.5% of all investor-held SFRs, demonstrating a highly fragmented market structure.

Single-property landlords form the largest segment by a wide margin, holding 647 properties, which alone accounts for 75.8% of the entire investor-owned portfolio.

The role of large institutional capital is minimal. Investors in the 1,000+ property tier own just 5 homes in the county, making up a mere 0.6% of the landlord-owned market.

Mid-size landlords (11-1,000 properties) also represent a very small portion of the market, collectively owning only 42 properties, or 4.9% of the total.

This distribution firmly establishes that the local rental market is sustained by a large number of small, independent investors rather than a few large corporate entities.

Individual investors are the primary owners in every single investor tier, reinforcing the 'mom-and-pop' nature of the Camden County market. In the largest single-property tier, individuals own 608 of the 647 properties (92.8%).

Unlike in larger metropolitan areas, there is no crossover point where corporate ownership surpasses individual ownership. Companies consistently remain the minority partner in every portfolio size.

Company ownership share peaks in the 3-5 property tier, but even there it only reaches 24.1% (19 properties), with individuals holding the dominant 75.9% share (60 properties).

This pattern shows that as investors scale up in Camden County, they tend to do so as individuals rather than through the formation of larger corporate structures.

Geographic concentration is a key feature of investor ownership in Camden County. The 27921 zip code is the epicenter of activity, containing 407 properties, which is 48.7% of all investor-owned homes in the county.

There is a clear distinction between the leaders in property count versus ownership rate. While 27921 has the highest volume, the 27974 zip code has the highest market penetration, with investors owning 34.7% of its housing stock.

The top five zip codes by investor property count are 27921 (407), 27976 (219), 27974 (159), 27973 (50), and 27909 (1).

Conversely, the top areas by investor ownership percentage are 27974 (34.7%), 27909 (33.3%), 27973 (22.6%), 27921 (22.0%), and 27976 (15.6%).

This data suggests investors employ different strategies, with some targeting high-volume areas and others focusing on achieving high ownership concentration in smaller markets.

Landlords are actively expanding their portfolios in Camden County, demonstrating a strong net buyer position. In Q4 2025, they purchased 12 properties while only selling 3, a buy-to-sell ratio of 4-to-1.

This acquisitive stance is a long-term trend, not a recent phenomenon. For the full year of 2025, investors bought 28 properties and sold just 8, resulting in a net gain of 20 properties.

The pattern was similar in the previous year. In 2024, landlords acquired 27 properties and sold only 6, for a net gain of 21 properties.

The consistent, high-volume net buying activity across multiple years indicates sustained investor confidence and a strategic accumulation of rental assets in the region.

Landlords played a significant role in market liquidity during Q4 2025, participating in 12 of the 65 total transactions for an 18.5% share of all market activity.

The transactional energy came from the smallest investors. The single-property tier (Tier 01) was responsible for 10 transactions, representing 83.3% of all landlord deals for the quarter.

A notable instance of inter-landlord trading occurred at the institutional level. The single purchase made by a 1,000+ property investor was sourced directly from another landlord.

In contrast, none of the 10 purchases made by the most active single-property tier were from other landlords, suggesting these new entrants are acquiring properties primarily from the traditional homeowner market.

The average purchase price for new single-property investors was $316,550, while a mid-size investor (21-50 tier) paid a similar price of $310,985 for their single acquisition.