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

In Dickey County, landlords hold a significant 31.9% of the Single-Family Residential (SFR) market, totaling 474 properties out of 1,485.

The ownership structure is overwhelmingly dominated by individual investors, who own 426 properties, accounting for 89.9% of the investor-owned portfolio. Company-owned properties represent a small fraction, with just 48 properties or 10.1% of the total.

This individual dominance extends to the entity level, where 530 of the 571 total landlords (92.8%) are individuals, reinforcing the 'mom-and-pop' character of the local rental market.

A defining characteristic of this market is the preference for cash transactions. A substantial 88.0% of the investor portfolio (417 properties) was acquired with cash, while only 12.0% (57 properties) are financed, suggesting a low-leverage, high-equity investor base.

The portfolio is almost exclusively dedicated to rentals, with 467 properties (98.5%) being non-owner-occupied, signaling a clear business focus among property owners in the region.

Acquisition pricing in Dickey County's low-volume market shows extreme volatility. In Q4 2025, landlords paid an average of $150,250, a staggering 233.9% premium over the traditional homeowner price of $45,000.

This Q4 premium marks a dramatic and anomalous reversal from previous quarters. In Q3 2025, landlords secured a deep 87.0% discount, paying just $39,144 compared to homeowners at $301,935. Similarly, discounts were observed in Q2 (13.9%) and Q1 (68.6%), making the Q4 activity a significant outlier likely driven by a specific high-value property purchase.

Despite the quarterly fluctuations, a clear long-term appreciation trend is evident. The average landlord acquisition price has risen steadily from $105,942 during the 2020-2023 period to $128,047 in 2024, and now stands at $142,246 for the year 2025.

The wide swings in the landlord-homeowner price gap—from a $262,791 discount in Q3 to a $105,250 premium in Q4—underscore the market's thin trading volume, where single transactions can heavily skew quarterly averages.

Investor activity surged in Q4 2025, with landlords acquiring 2 of the 3 total SFR properties sold in Dickey County, capturing a commanding 66.7% of the market share for the quarter.

The entirety of this purchasing activity was driven by mom-and-pop landlords. All 2 properties acquired by investors were purchased by an entity within the small landlord tier (3-5 properties), which alone accounted for 100.0% of landlord buying.

No new landlords (Tier 01) entered the market in Q4, and there was no activity from mid-size or institutional investors, indicating that recent market activity is characterized by the expansion of existing small-scale portfolios rather than new or large-scale entrants.

The data reveals that a single existing landlord was responsible for all investor purchasing in the fourth quarter, highlighting a highly concentrated burst of activity within a typically quiet market.

This contrasts with a complete absence of buying from institutional investors (Tier 09), reinforcing that the market's dynamics are dictated exclusively by local, small-scale players.

The investor landscape in Dickey County is defined by an absolute dominance of mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties), who control 100.0% of the 474 investor-owned SFRs.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) are the most significant group, holding 398 properties. This tier alone constitutes 82.7% of all investor-owned housing, demonstrating that the market is built upon a broad base of small, first-time investors.

The next largest tiers are also small-scale, with landlords owning 3-5 properties holding a 9.8% share (47 properties) and those with two properties holding a 6.0% share (29 properties).

There is a complete absence of larger investors in the region. Mid-size landlords (11-1000 properties) and institutional investors (1000+ properties) both have a 0.0% market share, indicating this market operates entirely outside the scope of large corporate real estate investment.

This ownership structure confirms that the rental market in Dickey County is exclusively served by local, small-scale individuals and entities, with no influence from national or institutional players.

Individual investors maintain majority ownership across all portfolio sizes in Dickey County, reinforcing their control over the local market. There is no crossover point where companies become the dominant owner type.

In the largest active tier, 'Small landlord (6-10)', individual ownership is absolute at 100.0%, with companies having no presence.

For single-property landlords, the backbone of the market, individuals own 364 properties (91.5%), while companies own just 34 (8.5%). This demonstrates that new entrants and the smallest investors are overwhelmingly individuals.

Even as portfolio sizes increase, individual dominance persists. In the two-property tier, individuals hold an 82.8% share, and in the 3-5 property tier, they hold an 80.9% share.

The highest penetration for company ownership is in the 3-5 property tier, where they own 9 properties, representing a modest 19.1% share. This shows that while some small investors incorporate, it remains a minority strategy in this region.

Geographic analysis reveals that investor ownership in Dickey County is primarily concentrated in two key areas: the zip codes for Ellendale (58436) and Oakes (58474).

Ellendale (58436) leads by volume, with 266 investor-owned SFR properties. This concentration also translates to a high penetration rate, with investors owning 44.4% of the housing stock in that area.

Oakes (58474) is the second hub of investor activity, with 157 properties owned by landlords, though its ownership rate of 20.7% is lower than in Ellendale.

While several smaller zip codes exhibit extremely high investor ownership rates—such as 58458 (100.0%) and 58413 (83.3%)—these percentages are based on a very small number of total properties and represent hyper-local pockets rather than broad market trends.

In contrast, areas like Forbes (58439) and Fullerton (58441) show a meaningful combination of activity and penetration, with 12 properties at a 44.4% rate and 20 properties at a 31.2% rate, respectively, further illustrating the rural concentration of investor activity.

Historical transaction data shows landlords in Dickey County are overwhelmingly net buyers, signaling a strong phase of portfolio accumulation. In 2025, landlords purchased 28 SFR properties while selling only 1, resulting in a net gain of 27 properties.

This aggressive acquisition strategy is not new. The transaction pattern in 2024 was identical, with 28 properties bought and only 1 sold, demonstrating a consistent, multi-year trend of market expansion by investors.

The buy-to-sell ratio of 28x for both 2025 and 2024 underscores the high conviction among local landlords to increase their holdings rather than divest.

Activity peaked in Q2 2025, with 14 properties purchased against only 1 sold, marking the most active quarter for acquisitions.

Institutional investors (1000+ tier) have been entirely absent from the transaction market, with zero recorded buys or sells. This reinforces that all market momentum is generated by small, local landlords.

In Q4 2025, landlords played a central role in the market, participating in half of all SFR transactions. They executed 2 of the 4 total transactions, for a 50.0% market share.

All investor transaction activity was concentrated within a single mom-and-pop tier. A landlord in the 'Small landlord (3-5)' category was responsible for all 2 investor purchases, at an average price of $150,250.

There was no transactional activity from new investors (Tier 01) or institutional investors (Tier 09), indicating that Q4's market was driven by an existing small landlord expanding their portfolio.

Investors sourced their acquisitions from outside the landlord community this quarter. The data shows 0% of properties were bought from other landlords, meaning all acquisitions came from traditional homeowners or other non-investor sellers.

The lack of inter-landlord trading suggests that current owners are in a holding pattern, with market liquidity being provided by non-investor sellers.