Johnson (NE) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Investors hold a significant stake in Johnson County's housing market, owning 600 Single-Family Residential properties, which constitutes 33.5% of the total 1,790 SFRs.

Individual investors are the primary drivers of the rental market, owning 538 properties and making up 89.7% of the total investor portfolio. Company-owned properties account for the remaining 14.0% with 84 properties.

A defining characteristic of this market is the complete absence of financing; 100% of the 600 investor-owned properties are held with cash. This suggests a market of financially stable landlords who are not reliant on leverage.

The rental focus is extremely high, with 586 properties, or 97.7% of the investor portfolio, classified as rented. This indicates that nearly every property is actively used as an income-generating asset.

The landlord landscape consists of 703 distinct entities, with 644 individuals and 59 companies. The high ratio of landlords to properties underscores the prevalence of small, single-property owners in the county.

Analysis of acquisition pricing and trends is not possible for Johnson County due to a complete halt in investor purchasing activity. There were zero properties acquired by landlords in Q4 2025.

Consequently, a direct price comparison between landlords and traditional homeowners for the most recent quarter cannot be made. This lack of data prevents the calculation of any potential purchasing discount investors might typically achieve.

Historical data from 2024 and the 2020-2023 period also show zero properties purchased, indicating a prolonged period of inactivity and making it impossible to assess price appreciation trends over time.

The absence of transaction data is a significant finding in itself, suggesting a highly illiquid or stalled market for investor acquisitions in Johnson County.

Without recent comparable sales, understanding current market value and investor purchasing strategies is challenging, pointing to a stable, hold-oriented investor base rather than an active trading environment.

The fourth quarter of 2025 saw a complete freeze in investor acquisition activity in Johnson County. Landlords purchased zero of the zero total SFRs sold, accounting for 0.0% of the market.

This halt in activity was universal across all investor sizes. 'Mom-and-pop' landlords, who constitute the vast majority of owners, made no new purchases in Q4.

Similarly, institutional investors (1000+ properties) also recorded zero acquisitions, maintaining the market's status quo.

The lack of new entrants is notable, with zero new single-property landlords (Tier 01) entering the market during the quarter. This signals a potential barrier to entry or a lack of desirable properties for sale.

Overall, the Q4 data paints a picture of a dormant market where existing landlords are holding their portfolios and new investors are not actively acquiring properties.

The investor landscape in Johnson County is overwhelmingly dominated by small-scale landlords. 'Mom-and-pop' investors (owning 1-10 properties) control a combined 99.4% of all investor-owned SFRs.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) form the bedrock of this market, owning 418 properties, which alone accounts for 65.4% of the entire investor portfolio.

In stark contrast, the presence of large-scale institutional investors is minimal. The 1000+ property tier (Tier 09) contains just one property, representing a mere 0.2% of the investor market share.

Mid-size landlords are also scarce, with only a handful of properties in the 21-100 property tiers, further emphasizing the market's reliance on small operators.

Due to the complete absence of Q4 2025 transactions, it is not possible to analyze acquisition prices by tier to determine if larger investors pay more or less than their smaller counterparts.

Individual investors form the foundation of Johnson County's rental market, overwhelmingly controlling the smaller portfolio tiers. They own 392 of the single-property rentals (91.6%) and 72 of the two-property portfolios (83.7%).

While individuals maintain a majority across most tiers, the influence of company ownership grows in direct proportion to portfolio size. In the 3-5 property tier, companies own 15.0%, a share that nearly triples to 42.9% in the 6-10 property tier.

This trend suggests that while individuals are more likely to start as landlords, companies play a more significant role as portfolios scale up, though they do not reach majority ownership in any recorded tier.

The data does not show a clear crossover point where companies become the majority owners, indicating that even larger 'mom-and-pop' portfolios in this county are often held by individuals.

Due to the lack of Q4 transactions, a comparison of acquisition prices between individual and company investors within these tiers is not possible.

Investor ownership in Johnson County is not evenly distributed, showing significant concentration in specific zip codes. The zip code 68450 is the clear hub for investor activity, containing 316 landlord-owned properties.

This single zip code accounts for over half (52.7%) of all investor-owned SFRs in the county, indicating a focused strategy on this particular submarket.

While 68450 leads by sheer volume, the highest rate of investor saturation is in zip code 68324. In this area, investors own 50.0% of the properties, signaling a market where renters may be as common as homeowners.

The data highlights that the areas with the highest count of investor properties are not necessarily those with the highest percentage of ownership, suggesting different market dynamics across the county.

Several zip codes, including 68301, 68357, and 68441, show no recorded investor-owned properties, pointing to parts of the county that are either untapped or less attractive to rental investors.

Historical data from 2024 reveals a period of active accumulation by landlords in Johnson County. Investors were decisive net buyers, with 22 properties purchased versus only 2 sold.

This activity resulted in a strong buy-to-sell ratio of 11-to-1, signaling a confident market where investors were focused on expanding their portfolios rather than divesting assets.

The net gain of 20 properties in 2024 stands in stark contrast to the complete halt in activity seen in Q4 2025, suggesting a significant shift in market conditions or investor sentiment.

There is no specific data available on institutional (1000+ tier) transactions for this period, so it is unclear if this buying activity was driven by smaller landlords or larger players.

Furthermore, data on inter-landlord transactions is unavailable, making it impossible to determine what percentage of these purchases were acquired from other investors versus traditional homeowners.

The transaction market for investors in Johnson County was completely inactive in Q4 2025. Landlords were involved in zero of the zero total transactions, for a market share of 0.0%.

This lack of activity was consistent across all investor sizes, from single-property owners to the largest tiers. No transactions were recorded for mom-and-pop or institutional investors.

Consequently, it's impossible to analyze Q4 purchasing strategies. There is no data to compare average purchase prices across different tiers or to identify which investors might be paying a premium or finding discounts.

The market for inter-landlord trading was also frozen, with zero properties bought from other landlords. This indicates a lack of portfolio churning or repositioning among existing investors.

The Q4 transaction data reinforces the findings from the purchase summary, painting a picture of a market in a holding pattern with no buying, selling, or trading among investors.