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

Investors have a significant footprint in Johnston County, owning 14,258 single-family residential properties, which constitutes 18.7% of the total market of 76,106 SFRs.

The investor landscape is dominated by individuals, who own 8,999 properties (63.1%), compared to the 5,584 (39.2%) owned by companies. This challenges the narrative of a market controlled by large corporations.

When examining landlord entities, the disparity is even greater, with 11,486 individual landlords compared to just 1,637 company landlords. This nearly 7-to-1 ratio indicates that the average individual's portfolio is significantly smaller than a company's.

A preference for liquidity is evident, as cash-owned properties (10,341) far exceed those that are financed (3,917). This suggests investors in the area are well-capitalized or favor a debt-free investment strategy.

The primary use of these properties is clear, with 97.4% of the investor-owned portfolio (13,883 properties) classified as rented, confirming their crucial role in supplying housing to the local rental market.

A stark pricing difference defined the Q4 2025 market, with landlords paying an average of $309,922 while traditional homeowners paid $400,227. This 22.6% discount, amounting to $90,305 per home, highlights a significant strategic advantage for investors.

This pricing advantage is not static but has been accelerating, widening from 15.6% in the first half of the year to 19.7% in Q3 and reaching its peak in Q4. This trend signals a growing divergence in acquisition strategy or negotiation power between investors and regular homebuyers.

Compared to the pandemic-era (2020-2023) average price of $304,232, the Q4 2025 landlord price of $309,922 shows only modest appreciation. This indicates investors are successfully targeting assets that have not experienced the same price inflation as the broader market.

The significant gap between what landlords and homeowners pay suggests that investors are not competing for the same turn-key properties. Instead, they are likely focusing on off-market deals, fixer-uppers, or other value-add opportunities that homeowners typically avoid.

The consistent and growing discount reveals a sophisticated acquisition apparatus among local investors, who are able to identify and secure undervalued assets far more effectively than the average buyer.

Investors were a significant force in the Q4 2025 market, purchasing 139 of the 720 single-family homes sold, which constitutes a 19.3% market share of all transactions.

The overwhelming majority of this purchasing activity came from small-scale landlords. Investors owning 1-10 properties were responsible for 117 of the 139 acquisitions, representing a dominant 83.6% of all investor buying.

The market saw a substantial influx of new entrants, with 123 distinct single-property entities acquiring 88 homes. This group of new landlords alone accounted for 62.9% of all properties bought by investors in the fourth quarter.

Institutional investors (1000+ properties) played a comparatively minor role, purchasing only 7 properties (5.0% of the landlord total). Their activity was dwarfed by the volume from mom-and-pop landlords, highlighting where the real purchasing power is concentrated.

This quarter's activity demonstrates that the growth in Johnston County's investor market is being fueled from the ground up by new and small-scale landlords, not by large, out-of-state institutions.

The investor landscape in Johnston County is overwhelmingly characterized by small-scale ownership. Landlords with portfolios of 1-10 properties (Tiers 01-04) collectively own 73.4% of all investor-held single-family homes, establishing them as the market's backbone.

The single-property landlord tier is the most significant segment, alone accounting for 7,840 properties, or 53.0% of the total investor portfolio. This underscores that the typical investor is not a large corporation but an individual with one rental home.

In stark contrast, institutional investors (Tier 09) hold a much smaller position, owning 2,069 properties. Their 14.0% market share is significant but less than a third of the share controlled by mom-and-pop landlords combined.

Comparing Q4 purchasing activity to overall ownership reveals a consistent pattern. Mom-and-pop landlords accounted for 83.6% of purchases while holding 73.4% of stock, indicating they are still in an aggressive accumulation phase.

The data reveals a highly fragmented market structure, heavily reliant on thousands of small, local investors rather than a few large, centralized institutions. This distribution runs contrary to common narratives about the corporate consolidation of housing.

A clear crossover point in ownership structure occurs as portfolios grow. While individuals overwhelmingly control smaller portfolios, companies become the majority owners starting in the 6-10 property tier, where they hold a 54.3% share.

The smallest tiers are the undisputed domain of individual investors. They own 89.6% of all single-property landlord portfolios and 75.5% of two-property portfolios, confirming their role as the primary entry point into real estate investment.

The transition to corporate ownership is both swift and stark as scale increases. Company ownership jumps to 66.6% in the 11-20 property tier and constitutes a near-total monopoly at 99.7% in the 21-50 property tier.

This pattern strongly indicates that while individuals can easily start and manage a few properties, scaling a real estate portfolio beyond five or six units typically necessitates the legal and financial advantages of a formal corporate structure.

The data illustrates a natural lifecycle of real estate investment in Johnston County: individuals start small, but professionalization and incorporation become essential for significant growth.

A significant portion of investor activity is geographically focused, with the top five zip codes by property count (27520, 27527, 27577, 27576, and 27504) collectively holding 10,013 properties, or 70.2% of all investor-owned SFRs in Johnston County.

The 27520 zip code stands out as the epicenter of investor ownership, with 3,408 properties. This single area accounts for 23.9% of all investor-owned homes in the county, making it a key submarket.

A clear distinction exists between areas with the highest count of investor properties and those with the highest rate of investor ownership. Zip codes like 27607 (100.0%) and 27555 (87.2%) show near-total market saturation by investors, but on a smaller number of total properties.

In contrast, the high-volume zip codes like 27520 and 27527 have more moderate investor ownership rates of 20.3% and 16.6% respectively. This shows they are large, diverse housing markets rather than pure rental enclaves.

This geographic split suggests at least two distinct investor strategies are at play: one focused on accumulating volume in large, central zip codes, and another focused on dominating smaller, high-penetration rental markets.

The landlord community in Johnston County continues to accumulate property, acting as consistent net buyers. In Q4 2025, they purchased 177 properties while selling only 55, a strong 3.2-to-1 buy-to-sell ratio that indicates ongoing confidence in the market.

A sharp divergence is visible at the institutional level. These large-scale investors (1000+ tier) have halted their expansion, breaking even in Q4 with 7 buys and 7 sells after being net sellers in Q3. This marks a significant strategy shift from their net-buyer position in 2024.

While still positive, the overall pace of acquisitions is slowing down. Total landlord purchases for 2025 (1,015) were notably lower than the 1,393 properties bought in 2024, suggesting a market that is cooling from its previous velocity.

The data reveals a clear split between smaller investors and large institutions. Mom-and-pop and mid-size landlords continue to acquire properties and expand their portfolios, while the largest players are either pausing or beginning to rebalance their holdings.

The net acquisition trend for all landlords, though positive, has steadily declined throughout 2025, from a net gain of 175 properties in Q2 to 139 in Q3, and finally 122 in Q4. This steady decrease in net buying points to increasing market headwinds or fewer attractive opportunities.

Investors represented a substantial portion of market activity in Q4 2025, participating in 177 of the 1,143 total SFR transactions for a market share of 15.5%.

A clear pricing advantage emerges with scale. Institutional investors paid an average of $284,911 per property, whereas new, single-property landlords paid $344,824. This $60,000 difference represents a 17.4% discount for the largest players.

Mirroring ownership patterns, mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) dominated Q4 transaction volume, accounting for 154 of the 177 landlord deals (87.0%), reinforcing that small investors are the primary drivers of market activity.

The market shows signs of internal liquidity, especially among smaller investors. New single-property landlords acquired 12.2% of their properties from existing landlords, suggesting a healthy resale market among peers.

In contrast, none of the 7 institutional purchases were sourced from other landlords. This indicates the largest players likely rely on different acquisition channels, such as direct from builders or off-market portfolios, rather than the open resale market.