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

Investor ownership comprises a significant 26.9% of the total SFR market in Perquimans County, with 1,572 properties held by landlords.

The market is overwhelmingly dominated by individual investors, who own 1,498 properties, representing 95.3% of the investor-owned housing stock. In contrast, company-owned properties number just 100, or 6.4% of the portfolio.

A strong preference for all-cash holdings is evident, with 1,337 properties owned outright compared to only 235 that are financed. This 5.7-to-1 ratio of cash-to-financed properties suggests investors in this market are well-capitalized and less reliant on leverage.

The investor portfolio is almost entirely dedicated to rentals. Of the 1,572 properties, 1,543 are classified as rented, indicating a 98.2% rental-focus and a clear strategy of generating rental income over other investment purposes.

The entity landscape mirrors the property ownership trend, with 1,919 individual landlords compared to just 96 company entities. This further reinforces the finding that the market is characterized by a large number of small, independent operators rather than a consolidated corporate presence.

Investors in Perquimans County consistently purchase properties at a lower price point than traditional homeowners. In Q4 2025, landlords paid an average of $555,278, representing a 10.3% discount compared to the homeowner average of $619,319.

This price advantage translated to an average savings of $64,041 per property in the most recent quarter, showcasing a significant financial edge for investors in the market.

However, this investor discount has been narrowing throughout the year. The 10.3% gap in Q4 is substantially smaller than the discounts seen in previous quarters, which were 18.4% in Q3, 16.4% in Q2, and a peak of 38.1% ($149,231) in Q1.

The trend of a shrinking price gap may indicate that the market is becoming more competitive, with fewer distressed or off-market opportunities available to investors, forcing them to compete more directly with traditional homebuyers.

Despite the narrowing discount, the consistent ability of landlords to pay less than homeowners across all four quarters of 2025 points to a persistent strategic advantage, likely stemming from cash offers, faster closing times, or targeting properties that require renovation.

Landlords represented a significant portion of market activity in Q4 2025, acquiring 8 of the 47 total SFRs sold, which equates to a 17.0% market share of purchases.

Remarkably, 100% of this acquisition activity came from the smallest investor tier. All 8 properties were purchased by 'mom-and-pop' investors, specifically those in the single-property (Tier 01) category.

This concentration at the entry-level signals a healthy influx of new participants into the rental market. The 8 properties purchased were acquired by 9 distinct entities, indicating the formation of new landlords in Perquimans County.

In stark contrast, there was zero purchasing activity from mid-size or institutional investors (Tiers 05-09). This highlights that all recent growth in the investor market is exclusively from small, local players.

The data clearly shows that the new supply of rental housing in Q4 was provided entirely by grassroots investment, not by large corporations expanding their portfolios.

The investor landscape in Perquimans County is defined by small-scale ownership, with mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties) controlling a commanding 98.2% of all investor-owned SFRs.

The market structure is highly fragmented. Single-property landlords (Tier 01) are the backbone of the rental market, alone accounting for 1,295 properties, or 79.8% of the entire investor portfolio.

This dominance of small investors directly counters the narrative of a market controlled by large corporations. Institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) have a minimal presence, owning just 6 properties, which constitutes only 0.4% of the investor-owned stock.

The combined share of all mid-to-large investors (Tiers 05-09, 11+ properties) is a mere 1.8%, further emphasizing the decentralized nature of rental property ownership in the county.

This distribution reveals that the local rental housing supply is overwhelmingly managed and provided by a large number of small, independent operators rather than a few consolidated entities.

Individual investors are the primary owners across nearly every segment of the market, not just at the entry level. In the single-property tier, individuals own 1,247 properties (94.8%) compared to just 69 for companies.

This pattern of individual dominance persists as portfolios grow. Individuals own 94.4% of two-property portfolios and 93.9% of portfolios in the 3-5 property range.

The data for Perquimans County defies the typical trend of corporate ownership increasing with portfolio size. There is no 'crossover tier' where companies become the majority owners. In fact, individuals maintain a strong majority even in larger tiers, such as owning 100% of properties in the 6-10 tier.

Even at a relatively larger scale, such as the 51-100 property tier, individuals still hold 4 of the 5 properties, representing an 80.0% ownership share.

This consistent outperformance by individual investors at all scales suggests that the local rental market is fundamentally driven by personal capital and independent operators, with corporate structures playing a very minor role.

Investor activity in Perquimans County is not widespread but is instead intensely focused within a single geographic area. The zip code 27944 is the undisputed epicenter of investment, containing 1,442 of the county's 1,572 investor-owned properties.

This concentration means that one zip code holds an overwhelming 91.7% of the entire investor SFR portfolio, indicating that specific local factors within this area are highly attractive to landlords.

The investor ownership rate in this primary hub is 27.4%, significantly higher than in most other parts of the county and a strong indicator of its rental market density.

While other zip codes show higher investor penetration rates, they represent much smaller markets. For example, NC-Perquimans-27985 has a 100.0% investor ownership rate, and 27932 has a 29.5% rate, but their property counts are negligible compared to the main investment zone.

This geographic analysis reveals that to understand the investor market in Perquimans County, one must focus almost exclusively on the dynamics within the 27944 zip code.

The landlord market in Perquimans County is in a phase of strong accumulation. In 2025, landlords were decidedly net buyers, with 85 property purchases compared to only 13 sales.

This activity yields a buy-to-sell ratio of 6.54, indicating that for every property sold by an investor, more than six were acquired. This trend was consistent throughout the year, with net positive acquisitions in both Q2 (25) and Q3 (25).

However, this bullish sentiment is not shared by the largest players. Institutional investors (1000+ tier) moved in the opposite direction, acting as net sellers in 2025 with 1 purchase versus 2 sales.

This divergence in strategy is a critical market signal: smaller, likely local, investors are expanding their portfolios and showing confidence in the market, while larger, institutional capital is contracting its presence.

The data suggests a potential transfer of properties from institutional holders to smaller landlords or a strategic decision by large firms to exit this specific market, creating opportunities for mom-and-pop investors to grow.

In Q4 2025, landlords played a notable role in the market, participating in 9 of the 72 total transactions, for a 12.5% share of transactional activity.

The nature of this activity was exclusively grassroots, with 100% of the 9 transactions being conducted by investors in the single-property (Tier 01) category. This underscores that new and small investors were the only active landlord segment during the quarter.

These entry-level investors paid an average price of $396,563 for their acquisitions, establishing a benchmark for new investment in the area.

A crucial finding is that 0% of these purchases were sourced from other landlords. This indicates that new investors are buying homes from traditional homeowners, thereby increasing the overall supply of rental housing in Perquimans County rather than just trading existing rental stock.

The complete absence of transactions from institutional or even mid-sized investors in Q4 reinforces the theme that market dynamics are currently being shaped entirely by the decisions of small, independent buyers.