Burleigh (ND) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

In Burleigh County, investors hold a total of 2,121 Single-Family Residential (SFR) properties, which constitutes 8.3% of the 25,613 SFRs in the market.

Individual investors are the primary force in the local rental market, owning 1,564 properties, or 73.7% of the total investor-owned portfolio. Company investors hold the remaining 588 properties (27.7%), indicating a market structure built on smaller, private ownership rather than large corporate landlords.

This individual dominance is also reflected in the entity count, where 2,239 individual landlords operate compared to just 294 company landlords. This highlights that the overwhelming majority of rental property providers in the county are small-scale operators.

When analyzing financing, a significant majority of investor properties are owned free and clear. There are 1,331 cash-owned properties, substantially outnumbering the 790 properties that are financed, signaling a financially stable and low-leverage investor base.

The portfolio is almost entirely dedicated to rental use, with 2,061 properties classified as rented. This demonstrates a clear focus on providing housing inventory to the rental market within Burleigh County.

Landlords in Burleigh County demonstrated a distinct pricing advantage in the most recent quarter. In Q4 2025, they acquired properties for an average of $367,790, which is 10.7% less than the $411,830 paid by traditional homeowners, resulting in a significant $44,040 average discount per property.

This price advantage for landlords was also present in Q3 2025, though less pronounced. During that period, landlords paid $411,529 compared to the homeowner average of $447,010, representing a 7.9% discount ($35,481).

However, the market saw a major pricing anomaly in Q2 2025. In a sharp reversal, landlords paid a staggering 38.2% premium, with an average acquisition price of $587,916, far exceeding the homeowner average of $425,479. This suggests a period where investors were targeting higher-end properties or faced intense bidding competition.

Despite the recent quarterly fluctuations, the long-term trend shows significant price appreciation. The average landlord acquisition price during the 2020-2023 period was $350,501, indicating that current 2025 prices, even with discounts, are substantially higher than those seen during the pandemic-era boom.

The data for 2024 and 2025 shows average landlord purchase prices of $443,895 and $441,137 respectively, indicating a slight cooling or stabilization of prices year-over-year after a period of rapid growth.

Investor activity represented a notable portion of the Burleigh County housing market in Q4 2025, with landlords purchasing 34 of the 275 total SFRs sold, a market share of 12.4%.

The quarter was defined by the activity of small-scale investors. Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) were responsible for 31 of the 34 investor purchases, accounting for a commanding 91.2% of all landlord acquisition activity.

New entrants were a primary driver of Q4 demand. The single-property tier alone saw 34 new entities enter the market, acquiring 23 properties. This represents 67.6% of all properties bought by investors, signaling a healthy influx of first-time landlords.

In stark contrast to the active small landlord segment, institutional investors (Tier 09) had no purchasing activity in Burleigh County during Q4, acquiring zero properties. This reinforces the narrative of a market dominated by local and small-scale players.

Mid-size investors also played a role, though smaller. Landlords in the 'Small-medium' (11-20 properties) and 'Large' (101-1000) tiers each acquired properties, but their combined volume was only 3 properties, further highlighting the concentration of activity at the smaller end of the market.

The investor landscape in Burleigh County is overwhelmingly dominated by small-scale, mom-and-pop landlords. Those owning 1-10 properties (Tiers 01-04) collectively control 89.4% of all investor-owned SFRs, cementing their role as the backbone of the local rental market.

The single-property landlord tier is the largest single group by a wide margin. These 1,489 single-property portfolios account for 68.2% of all investor-owned homes, underscoring the granular, decentralized nature of property investment in the area.

Conversely, large-scale and institutional ownership is virtually non-existent. Investors in the 1000+ property tier (Tier 09) own just 2 properties, making up only 0.1% of the market. This figure challenges any narrative of a corporate takeover of local housing.

Mid-size investors (11-100 properties) hold a combined 10.4% of the investor portfolio. The most significant of these is the 'Small-medium' tier (21-50 properties), which owns 171 properties or 7.8% of the total.

The data clearly illustrates a highly fragmented market structure, where the vast majority of rental housing is supplied not by large corporations, but by local individuals and small businesses with modest portfolios.

A clear pattern emerges when analyzing ownership by entity type across different portfolio sizes: individuals dominate smaller tiers, while companies take control as portfolios scale. In the single-property tier, individuals own 1,329 homes (87.4%) compared to just 191 for companies (12.6%).

This individual-led ownership trend continues through the 2-property tier (81.9% individual) and the 3-5 property tier (71.8% individual), confirming that the entry-level and small-portfolio segment of the market is primarily driven by private citizens.

The strategic shift occurs at the 6-10 property tier, which serves as the crossover point. Here, company ownership jumps to 83 properties (72.8%), while individual ownership drops to just 31 properties (27.2%). This suggests that as investors grow their portfolios beyond five properties, they increasingly turn to corporate structures for liability protection and operational efficiency.

This finding highlights a distinct lifecycle in property investment within Burleigh County. Investors typically start as individuals, and those who continue to expand their holdings are highly likely to formalize their operations under a company structure.

The data shows that while the overall market is dominated by individuals by count, a strategy of professionalization and corporatization is evident among the most successful and growth-oriented local landlords.

Geographic analysis of investor ownership in Burleigh County reveals a tale of two different concentration strategies: high volume in urban centers and high penetration in surrounding rural areas.

The largest number of investor-owned properties are located in Bismarck's primary zip codes. Zip code 58503 leads with 817 properties, followed by 58501 (640 properties) and 58504 (516 properties). However, the investor ownership rates in these areas are relatively modest, at 7.7%, 9.1%, and 7.2% respectively.

In stark contrast, the highest rates of investor ownership are found in smaller, more rural zip codes. Zip code 58494 has the highest concentration, where investors own 38.8% of the SFR housing stock. Similarly, 58579 (33.9%) and 58560 (31.2%) show extremely high levels of investor penetration.

This pattern suggests that while the bulk of investor capital is deployed in the more populous and liquid market of Bismarck, a different strategy is at play in outlying communities, where investors control a much larger share of a smaller housing market.

The top five zip codes by sheer count account for a significant portion of all investor-owned properties, demonstrating a focused approach on established residential areas. However, the high-penetration zip codes indicate niche markets where rental properties are a dominant feature of the local housing landscape.

Transaction data reveals that landlords in Burleigh County are in a clear accumulation phase. In Q4 2025, they purchased 49 properties while selling only 14, resulting in a strong net positive of 35 properties and a buy-to-sell ratio of 3.5-to-1.

This aggressive buying posture is not a new phenomenon. Throughout 2025, landlords have consistently been net buyers each quarter, culminating in 256 total acquisitions versus just 58 dispositions for the year. This represents a net portfolio growth of 198 properties.

The trend of net buying extends back to 2024, when landlords added a net of 148 properties to their portfolios (215 buys vs. 67 sells), signaling sustained confidence and long-term investment in the local housing market.

Institutional investors (1000+ tier) operate on a completely different scale and strategy. Their activity in 2025 was negligible, with a single purchase and a single sale, resulting in a net neutral position. This highlights their minimal impact on market dynamics compared to the highly active smaller landlords.

In 2024, institutional activity was slightly more positive, with 3 buys and 2 sells for a net gain of 1 property. However, this low volume reinforces that the market's momentum is driven almost entirely by the broader base of individual and mom-and-pop investors.

In Q4 2025, landlords participated in 49 of the 456 total SFR transactions in Burleigh County, capturing a 10.7% share of all market activity.

The vast majority of this activity came from the smallest investors. The single-property tier alone accounted for 34 transactions, representing nearly 70% of all landlord purchases. This highlights an influx of new capital from first-time investors.

A clear pricing hierarchy emerged among tiers. New investors in the single-property tier paid the highest average price at $401,829. In contrast, larger investors paid substantially less, with the 101-1000 property tier averaging just $230,905, demonstrating a price advantage for scale and experience.

Inter-landlord trading activity was most prevalent among the smallest buyers. Of the 34 properties purchased by single-property investors, 7 (20.6%) were acquired from another landlord. This suggests that new entrants are often buying established rental properties from existing operators.

Overall, mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) dominated Q4 transactions, making 45 of the 49 total investor purchases. Institutional investors (Tier 09) made zero transactions, ceding the entire quarter's activity to smaller players.