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

Investors hold a substantial 40.2% of the Single-Family Residential market in Pembina County, ND, with a total of 826 properties under their control.

The market is overwhelmingly dominated by individual investors, who own 784 properties (94.9%), compared to just 52 properties (6.3%) held by companies. This signifies a strong 'mom-and-pop' landlord presence rather than corporate ownership.

By entity count, the disparity is even more pronounced, with 1,064 individual landlords versus only 38 company landlords, a ratio of nearly 28 to 1.

Investor portfolios are heavily weighted towards outright ownership, with 691 properties (83.7%) held as cash assets versus 135 (16.3%) that are financed. This suggests a well-capitalized investor base with low leverage.

The rental focus of these portfolios is clear, as 820 of the 826 investor-owned properties are actively rented, underscoring their primary role as housing providers in the local market.

Landlords in Pembina County, ND consistently purchase properties at a significant discount compared to traditional homeowners. In Q4 2025, landlords paid an average of $107,372, which is 14.7% less than the $125,940 paid by homeowners—a net savings of $18,568 per property.

The pricing advantage for investors was even more pronounced earlier in the year, highlighting a powerful negotiating position. In Q3, the discount was 35.3% ($62,104), and it peaked in Q2 at an extraordinary 63.5% ($112,564) discount.

This trend of deep discounts demonstrates that investors are not driving up prices; instead, they are effectively targeting undervalued assets or negotiating favorable terms unavailable to typical buyers.

Comparing recent prices to the 2020-2023 average of $123,969 reveals that current acquisition prices for landlords are lower, suggesting a market correction or a strategic shift towards purchasing lower-cost properties.

Investor activity surged in Q4 2025, with landlords acquiring 15 of the 27 total SFR properties sold, capturing a majority 55.6% of the market share.

The purchasing activity was entirely concentrated at the smallest end of the investor spectrum. 'Mom-and-pop' landlords (1-10 properties) accounted for 100% of these acquisitions, with institutional investors (1000+ properties) showing zero activity.

New entrants are a key driver of the market, as single-property landlords (Tier 01) alone purchased 13 properties (86.7% of the investor total). This activity was driven by 16 distinct new entities, signaling a healthy influx of first-time investors.

The complete absence of purchasing from mid-size and institutional tiers underscores that the local investment landscape is controlled by small, independent operators.

The investor landscape in Pembina County, ND is the epitome of a 'mom-and-pop' market, with landlords in Tiers 01-04 (1-10 properties) collectively owning 99.8% of all investor-held SFRs.

Single-property landlords form the bedrock of this market, with 735 properties (87.3%) held in Tier 01. This highlights the decentralized nature of rental ownership in the county.

In stark contrast to national narratives, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) have zero ownership stake in the county's SFR market, controlling 0.0% of the properties.

The ownership concentration is almost entirely within the smallest tiers, with Two-property landlords holding 5.6%, and the 3-5 and 6-10 property tiers holding 3.6% and 3.3% respectively.

The data reveals a market completely devoid of large-scale corporate ownership, with local, small-scale investors providing the vast majority of rental housing.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the entry-level tiers, owning 96.1% of single-property portfolios (713 properties) and 89.4% of two-property portfolios (42 properties).

A clear strategic shift occurs as investors scale. The 6-10 property tier marks the crossover point where companies become the majority owners, holding 15 properties (53.6%) compared to 13 held by individuals (46.4%).

This pattern suggests that as landlords expand their holdings beyond a handful of properties, they tend to formalize their operations under a corporate structure for liability or financial reasons.

Company ownership remains a small fraction of the overall market, concentrated in just a few tiers. Companies own only 29 single-property rentals (3.9%) and 5 two-property rentals (10.6%), reinforcing their minority status in the broader landscape.

Investor ownership in Pembina County is not evenly distributed but is concentrated in specific geographic pockets. The zip code 58220 has the highest volume of investor-owned homes, with 238 properties.

Certain areas show an extraordinary density of investor ownership. In zip codes 58276 and 58282, investors own more than half of the single-family homes, with ownership rates of 51.0% and 50.9% respectively.

The top 5 regions by investor-owned count are 58220 (238 properties), 58282 (199), 58225 (126), and 58271 (95), highlighting key sub-markets for rental activity.

This data reveals that while the county-wide investor ownership rate is 40.2%, certain communities are defined by rental housing, with investors playing a primary role in the local real estate market.

The data clearly shows that landlords are in an aggressive accumulation phase, consistently acting as net buyers. In 2025, they purchased 77 SFR properties while selling only 12, resulting in a net gain of 65 properties and a buy-to-sell ratio of 6.4x.

This buying trend was steady throughout the year. In Q4 2025, landlords bought 20 properties and sold 8 (a 2.5x ratio), and in Q3 they bought 27 while selling only 1 (a 27x ratio).

The pattern extends back to 2024, when landlords acquired 55 properties and sold just 8, for a net increase of 47 properties to their portfolios.

In contrast, institutional activity is negligible and shows no signs of growth. The only recorded transactions for the 1000+ tier in the past two years were a single purchase and a single sale in 2024, resulting in a neutral position.

Landlords were a driving force in the Q4 2025 market, participating in 20 of the 39 total SFR transactions, which constitutes a majority share of 51.3%.

All 20 of these transactions were conducted by 'mom-and-pop' landlords, with no activity from institutional tiers, reinforcing their dominance in market activity.

First-time investors (Tier 01) demonstrated a cost-effective acquisition strategy, paying an average of $101,787 per property, which is 23.2% less than the $132,500 average paid by two-property landlords.

Inter-landlord trading is a key feature for more established small investors. The two transactions by landlords in the 6-10 property tier were both sourced from other landlords, indicating a liquid secondary market among existing rental owners.

In contrast, new investors were less reliant on this channel, with only 12.5% (2 of 16) of their purchases coming from fellow landlords.