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

In Union County, investors hold a significant 15.6% of the single-family residential market, totaling 3,666 properties. This demonstrates a robust rental market within the county's total SFR inventory of 23,511 homes.

The investor landscape is overwhelmingly characterized by individual ownership, which accounts for 3,170 properties (86.5%). Company-owned properties make up a much smaller portion at 544 (14.8%), challenging the narrative of a market dominated by large corporations.

A similar pattern is seen in the entity count, where 4,397 individual landlords vastly outnumber the 461 company landlords. This 9.5-to-1 ratio of individuals to companies underscores the 'mom-and-pop' nature of the local rental market.

Investor portfolios in Union County are built on a foundation of strong equity, with cash-owned properties (2,710) outnumbering financed ones (956) by nearly three to one. This suggests a less leveraged, more financially stable investor base.

The primary function of these investor-owned properties is to serve as rental housing. A total of 3,564 properties are rented, which accounts for 97.2% of the entire investor-owned SFR portfolio, directly addressing local housing demand.

Landlords in Union County demonstrated a significant pricing advantage in Q4 2025, acquiring properties at an average price of $493,972 compared to the $625,846 paid by traditional homeowners. This represents a substantial 21.1% discount, saving investors an average of $131,874 per transaction.

This trend of securing properties below the typical market rate was consistent for most of the year. In Q3, the discount was even more pronounced at 29.0% ($188,239), and in Q1 it was 29.7% ($181,346), indicating a sustained ability for investors to find and secure favorable deals.

A notable exception occurred in Q2 2025, when landlords paid an average of $672,459, a 3.1% premium over homeowners. This temporary reversal suggests a specific market condition or a period of more intense competition for a certain type of property before the typical discount model resumed.

The consistent, deep discounts achieved by landlords highlight a strategic difference in acquisition methods compared to traditional homebuyers. This could be attributed to a focus on off-market deals, distressed properties, or bulk purchases not typically accessible to the general public.

Comparing recent prices to the 2020-2023 average of $401,822, the Q4 2025 landlord price of $493,972 reflects significant appreciation. However, by securing properties well below the homeowner price, investors mitigate some of the impact of this market-wide price growth.

Investor activity accounted for a significant portion of the Union County market in Q4 2025, with landlords purchasing 61 of the 210 total SFRs sold, a market share of 29.0%.

The overwhelming majority of this purchasing activity came from the smallest investors. Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) were responsible for 56 of these acquisitions, representing 87.5% of the total investor buy-side activity.

New entrants were a primary driver of Q4 demand, with single-property landlords (Tier 01) alone purchasing 48 properties. This activity was spread across 71 distinct entities, highlighting a fresh wave of first-time investors entering the market.

While small investors were highly active, institutional investors (Tier 09) were completely absent from the purchasing landscape, acquiring zero properties in Q4. This starkly contrasts with the high volume from mom-and-pop buyers.

Mid-size investors also contributed to the activity, with those holding between 11 and 1,000 properties collectively purchasing 8 properties, demonstrating continued, albeit smaller-scale, portfolio growth across various segments.

The ownership structure of investor-held SFRs in Union County is dominated by small-scale landlords. Those owning 1-10 properties (Tiers 01-04) collectively control 98.5% of the 3,666 properties, firmly establishing the market as a mom-and-pop domain.

The smallest tier of single-property landlords represents the bedrock of the market. This group owns 3,034 properties, accounting for 79.7% of all investor-owned homes, a figure that underscores the decentralized nature of rental ownership in the county.

Conversely, the influence of large institutional investors (1,000+ properties) is negligible. This tier holds only 7 properties, representing just 0.2% of the investor market, a figure that defies the common narrative of large-scale corporate consolidation.

Mid-size landlords, those holding between 11 and 1,000 properties, constitute a very small fraction of the market, collectively owning just 51 properties or 1.4% of the total investor portfolio.

The data reveals a clear market structure where the overwhelming majority of rental properties are managed and owned by local, small-scale investors, with virtually no penetration from large, institutional-grade players.

Ownership structure evolves significantly as investors expand their portfolios. While individuals dominate the entry levels, companies become the majority owners in the 6-10 property tier, controlling 32 properties (58.2%) compared to the 23 (41.8%) held by individuals.

At the smallest scales, individual ownership is the clear standard. Among single-property landlords, individuals own 2,763 homes (89.9%), while companies own just 309 (10.1%). This pattern continues for two-property landlords, with individuals holding a 78.8% share.

The transition toward corporate ownership begins to appear in the 3-5 property tier. Although individuals still own the majority with 269 properties (76.2%), the company share grows to 84 properties (23.8%), signaling the start of a strategic shift.

This crossover point at the 6-10 property level suggests that as portfolios grow in value and complexity, investors increasingly turn to corporate structures like LLCs for liability protection, financial management, and tax purposes.

The data illustrates a natural investor lifecycle: individuals typically enter the market and operate smaller portfolios, but scaling beyond five properties often coincides with a move to a more formal, corporate ownership structure.

Geographic concentration is a defining feature of real estate investment in Union County. The top two zip codes, 28110 (823 properties) and 28112 (689 properties), together account for 1,512 properties, or 41.2% of the entire investor portfolio.

High investor counts do not always equate to the highest market penetration. While 28110 and 28112 have the most properties, their investor ownership rates are 15.5% and 15.0%, respectively. In contrast, the much smaller market of zip code 28108 has an investor ownership rate of 70.0%.

Several other zip codes also show high investor penetration rates, including 28103 (20.4%) and 28227 (20.0%), indicating specific sub-markets that are particularly attractive to landlords.

The data reveals that investors target specific neighborhoods and sub-markets rather than applying a broad strategy across the county. This hyper-local approach leads to pockets of high investor ownership alongside areas with more traditional homeowner compositions.

The top five regions by sheer count of investor-owned properties are 28110, 28112, 28104, and 28133, which collectively represent the core of Union County's rental market inventory.

Landlords in Union County are in a strong accumulation phase, demonstrated by a Q4 2025 buy-to-sell ratio of 4.58-to-1. They acquired 87 properties while only selling 19, resulting in a net gain of 68 properties for their portfolios.

This net buyer status is not a recent phenomenon. The trend has been firmly in place throughout 2025 and 2024, with landlords adding a net 215 properties in 2025 and 158 properties in 2024, signaling sustained confidence in the local market.

A significant divergence in strategy is evident between the broader market and institutional investors. While the overall landlord pool is expanding, the 1,000+ property tier was neutral in 2025, with 2 buys and 2 sells. This indicates that large-scale capital is not driving the current acquisition trend.

Acquisition volume has been accelerating. Landlords purchased 268 properties in 2025, a 33.3% increase from the 201 properties purchased in 2024, showing growing momentum on the buy side.

The data consistently portrays a market where small and mid-size investors are actively growing their holdings, while the largest institutional players are either holding steady or potentially rebalancing their portfolios without net expansion.

In Q4 2025, landlords were a major force in the market, with their 87 purchases accounting for 24.9% of the 350 total SFR transactions in Union County.

A clear pricing disparity exists across investor tiers, suggesting different acquisition strategies. New investors in the single-property tier paid the highest average price of $510,799. In contrast, more experienced investors in mid-size tiers paid far less, such as the $156,126 average for the 11-20 property tier.

Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) dominated transaction volume, conducting 79 of the 87 investor transactions. Institutional investors (Tier 09) were entirely inactive, recording zero transactions in Q4.

Inter-landlord trading activity varied by scale. While new investors sourced only 4.2% of their properties from other landlords, more established investors relied on this channel more heavily. The 21-50 property tier sourced 50.0% of its acquisitions from other landlords, indicating a more mature, networked approach to deal-finding.

The data suggests a sophistication curve, where new entrants may be paying closer to retail prices, while larger, more experienced landlords are better positioned to find discounted or off-market opportunities, including from other investors exiting the market.