Belknap (NH) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Landlords in Belknap County control a substantial portfolio of 8,612 Single Family Residential (SFR) properties, representing 35.6% of the total 24,185 SFR properties in the market, indicating significant investor presence.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the landlord landscape, owning 7,495 SFR properties (87.0% of investor-owned SFR) compared to companies which hold 1,688 properties (19.6%). This highlights a market largely driven by "mom-and-pop" rather than corporate entities.

The vast majority of investor-owned properties are utilized for rental purposes, with 8,567 properties categorized as 'Rented'. This constitutes 99.5% of the total 8,612 investor-owned SFR properties, emphasizing that almost all investor activity is focused on generating rental income.

A significant portion of landlord acquisitions are conducted via cash, with 5,486 properties (63.7% of all landlord holdings) being cash-owned. This is nearly double the number of financed properties, which stand at 3,126 (36.3%), suggesting a preference for unencumbered assets or strong capital reserves among investors.

In terms of entity count, individual landlords far outnumber companies, with 11,124 individual landlords comprising 87.0% of the total 12,786 landlords. Companies represent only 1,662 entities (13.0%), further underscoring the market's individual investor-centric structure.

Landlords in Belknap County secured a notable discount in Q4 2025, paying an average of $549,936 per property. This represents a substantial $172,870 (23.9%) less than the $722,806 average price paid by traditional homeowners, indicating a strong negotiation position or preference for different property segments.

The price gap between landlords and traditional homeowners has exhibited extreme volatility throughout 2025. While landlords saw a significant discount in Q4, they paid a 21.2% premium ($99,890) in Q3 ($570,232 vs $470,342), and an even larger 34.8% premium ($139,563) in Q2 ($540,244 vs $400,681), before another premium of 11.2% in Q1 ($576,038 vs $517,804). This suggests highly localized market dynamics or shifting investment strategies rather than a consistent pricing advantage.

Despite Q4 2025 showing 116 landlord purchases (per Section 7), the detailed acquisition data for specific timeframes (2025-Q4, Q3, Q2, Q1, Year 2025, Year 2024, 2020-2023) consistently reports "0 properties" acquired by landlords in Section 6-1. This indicates a data discrepancy where average prices are reported without corresponding property counts in this particular dataset slice.

Given the reported "0 properties" for acquisition volumes across all specified timeframes in Section 6-1, it is impossible to accurately assess acquisition price trends over time or calculate price appreciation from prior periods for landlords from this specific data.

The dramatic swing from landlords paying substantial premiums in Q2 and Q3 to a significant discount in Q4 suggests that the type of properties acquired by landlords or the market conditions they operate in can change drastically quarter-to-quarter in Belknap County.

Landlords were the overwhelming force in the Q4 2025 housing market, responsible for 116 of the total 174 SFR purchases in Belknap County. This translates to a commanding 66.7% share of all property acquisitions, far outstripping purchases by other buyer types.

The Q4 purchasing activity was entirely dominated by mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04), who accounted for 100.0% of all 116 landlord purchases. This highlights the foundational role of smaller investors in shaping the local real estate landscape.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) were the primary drivers of investor activity, acquiring 113 properties, which represents a substantial 97.4% of all landlord purchases in Q4. This indicates a strong entry or expansion trend among new or small-scale investors.

A total of 183 distinct entities were involved in Tier 01 purchases, which acquired 113 properties, suggesting a significant number of new single-property landlords entering or expanding their portfolios, although the average properties per entity would be less than one, which is an anomaly in purchase data.

In stark contrast to mom-and-pop activity, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) made no purchases in Belknap County during Q4 2025, holding a 0.0% share of landlord acquisitions. This absence further emphasizes the hyper-local, small-investor driven nature of the market.

Mom-and-pop landlords (owning 1-10 properties) overwhelmingly control the investor-owned SFR market in Belknap County, holding 8,665 properties which translates to a commanding 98.7% of the total 8,782 investor-owned SFRs. This reveals a highly localized and small-investor driven market structure.

The vast majority of this mom-and-pop dominance stems from single-property landlords (Tier 01), who own 8,050 properties – an extraordinary 91.7% of the entire investor-owned portfolio. This makes first-time or single-property landlords the undisputed backbone of the SFR rental market in the county.

In stark contrast to the small landlord prevalence, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) have a negligible footprint in Belknap County, owning only 1 property, which accounts for a mere 0.0% of the total investor-owned SFRs. This effectively debunks any notion of large-scale corporate control in this specific market.

The distribution beyond single-property landlords quickly diminishes; Tier 02 (two-property) accounts for 390 properties (4.4%), while Tiers 03-05 (3-10 properties) together hold 225 properties (2.6%). This rapid drop-off in holdings by larger tiers solidifies the small-scale nature of the investor landscape.

Information regarding acquisition prices by tier (whether larger investors pay more or less) and historical changes in tier distribution (growth or shrinkage of institutional presence) is not available within the provided dataset for Belknap County.

The ownership dynamics in Belknap County reveal a clear crossover point where company ownership surpasses individual ownership: for landlords holding 6-10 properties (Small landlord Tier 04), companies control 92.3% of properties (12 properties) compared to just 7.7% (1 property) owned by individuals.

Individual investors are the prevailing force in smaller portfolios, owning 7,091 (83.1%) of single-property (Tier 01) holdings. Their dominance continues through Tier 02 (69.7%) and Tier 03-05 (52.9%), indicating that the initial stages of portfolio growth are primarily driven by individual landlords.

Surprisingly, individuals reassert their majority in larger mid-size tiers such as 21-50 properties, where they own 92.6% (50 properties), and 51-100 properties, where they hold an even more commanding 98.3% (57 properties). This suggests that some larger, non-institutional portfolios are still predominantly individual-owned.

While Section 8-1 indicates only 1 property for the institutional (1000+ properties) tier, the specific individual vs. company breakdown for this largest tier is not detailed in Section 9-1. However, given the overall trend, this single property is likely company-owned.

The dataset does not provide information on how individual vs. company acquisition prices differ within each tier, nor does it detail historical growth patterns by owner type, limiting a deeper analysis of strategic differences or evolving market presence.

Within Belknap County, specific zip codes emerge as hotspots for investor activity. Zip code NH-Belknap-03253 leads with 1,561 investor-owned properties, followed closely by NH-Belknap-03810 with 1,173 properties, indicating significant geographic concentration of SFR investor portfolios.

These leading zip codes also demonstrate the highest investor ownership rates. NH-Belknap-03810 exhibits the highest penetration, with 62.0% of its SFR properties owned by landlords. NH-Belknap-03254 follows at 50.0% and NH-Belknap-03253 at 46.3%, showcasing markets with a substantial landlord presence.

A clear correlation exists between high counts of investor-owned properties and high investor ownership percentages in Belknap County. Zip codes 03810 and 03253 appear in both top lists, confirming these areas as key targets for landlords, where they own a larger share of the local housing stock.

Data for landlord-owned property counts and ownership rates for zip codes NH-Belknap-03217, NH-Belknap-03235, and NH-Belknap-03245 is not available, preventing a full comparison across all listed sub-geographies within the county.

Information regarding acquisition prices or the number of landlord entities operating within these specific zip codes is not provided in this section, limiting a deeper understanding of market dynamics and investor strategies across the county.

Landlords in Belknap County are significant net buyers, consistently accumulating properties rather than divesting. For the entirety of 2025, they purchased 759 properties while selling only 32, yielding an exceptionally high buy/sell ratio of 23.7x, underscoring their strong market presence and expansion efforts.

This aggressive net buying trend continued into Q4 2025, with landlords acquiring 187 properties and selling a mere 10, resulting in an 18.7x buy/sell ratio. This sustained high ratio indicates a healthy demand for investment properties in the county.

The buy/sell ratio has demonstrated volatility throughout 2025, peaking in Q2 with a remarkable 28.4x (199 buys vs 7 sells), before stabilizing at 19.7x in Q3 (236 buys vs 12 sells). Despite the fluctuations, the market consistently shows landlords as dominant acquirers.

Comparing annual activity, 2025 saw a slight increase in acquisition volume (759 buys) compared to 2024 (728 buys), with sales also seeing a decrease (32 sells in 2025 vs 42 sells in 2024). This suggests an intensifying net acquisition trend year-over-year.

Data regarding the percentage of landlord-to-landlord transactions, average buy vs. sell prices, and the transaction patterns of institutional investors (1000+ tier) is not provided in this section, limiting a more granular analysis of market liquidity and profit margins.

Landlords were central to the Q4 2025 real estate market in Belknap County, participating in 187 transactions which constituted a significant 64.7% of the total 289 SFR transactions recorded. This highlights their pervasive influence on market liquidity and property turnover.

The vast majority of this landlord transaction volume was driven by single-property landlords (Tier 01), who were involved in 184 transactions, representing 98.4% of all landlord activity. This tier acquired properties at an average price of $524,624, reflecting the price point for smaller investors.

Inter-landlord trading was minimal within the most active tier; only 8 out of 184 (4.3%) Tier 01 transactions involved buying from other landlords. This indicates that mom-and-pop landlords predominantly acquire properties from non-investor sellers, suggesting new properties entering the rental market rather than just portfolio reshuffling.

Smaller-scale landlords beyond Tier 01 showed significantly less activity; Tier 02 (two-property) recorded only 2 transactions at an average price of $155,000, and Tier 03-05 (small landlord) just 1 transaction at $250,000. These lower transaction counts and average prices suggest different market segments or less active participation from slightly larger mom-and-pop portfolios.

Institutional investors (Tier 09) had no reported transactions in Q4 2025, further emphasizing their minimal presence and activity in the Belknap County market, especially compared to the vibrant mom-and-pop segment.