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

Investor-owned single-family residential (SFR) properties constitute a substantial 37.3% of the total SFR market in NH-Grafton, totaling 11,030 properties. This highlights a significant presence of landlords within the local housing ecosystem.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the landlord landscape, owning 9,782 properties (88.7% of all investor-owned SFR) and representing 14,612 out of 16,378 total landlord entities (89.2%). This emphasizes that the vast majority of rental properties are managed by smaller, local owners rather than large corporate entities, which account for 1,864 properties (16.9%) and 1,766 entities (10.8%).

The investor portfolio in NH-Grafton is highly rental-focused, with 10,969 properties, or 99.4% of all landlord-owned SFR, identified as rented. This indicates that almost all investor-owned properties are held specifically for generating rental income, aligning with the definition of non-owner-occupied status.

A notable trend in how landlords acquire and hold properties is the strong preference for cash transactions over financing. A significant 7,554 (68.5%) of investor-owned properties were acquired via cash, compared to only 3,476 (31.5%) that were financed. This suggests a strong capital position or strategic preference for avoiding debt among NH-Grafton landlords.

The disproportionate ratio of individual entities (14,612) to their owned properties (9,782) suggests that individual investors typically maintain smaller portfolios, often owning just one or two properties. This contrasts with companies, where 1,766 entities own 1,864 properties, indicating a slightly higher average property-per-entity count for corporate landlords, though still small-scale.

In Q4 2025, landlords in NH-Grafton demonstrated superior purchasing power by acquiring properties at an average price of $479,111, which is a significant $102,924 (17.7%) less than the average $582,035 paid by traditional homeowners. This considerable discount highlights a potential strategic advantage or access to different market segments for investors.

The pricing dynamics between landlords and homeowners have shown extreme volatility throughout 2025. The market swung from landlords paying a substantial $145,025 (33.3%) premium over homeowners in Q3 2025, to a near-even price in Q2 (1.0% premium), and then to the notable 17.7% discount in Q4. This indicates a highly dynamic and potentially opportunistic market for landlord acquisitions.

Longer-term trends reveal significant price appreciation for landlord acquisitions. Average prices have climbed from $417,647 during the 2020-2023 pandemic era to $546,033 in Year 2025, representing a 30.7% increase. Even more recently, the Q4 2025 average of $479,111 shows a 14.7% increase compared to the 2020-2023 period, underscoring persistent growth in property values.

The widening landlord discount observed from Q1 2025 (8.8% discount) to Q4 2025 (17.7% discount) suggests that landlords are increasingly finding opportunities to acquire properties at more favorable prices relative to the broader market. This trend could indicate a shift in market conditions favoring investor-led purchases.

Despite the lack of specific acquisition counts for certain quarters (reported as 0 distinct properties), the consistent presence of average prices across all timeframes suggests ongoing, albeit potentially low-volume, market activity for landlords, with their pricing strategy showing adaptability to market shifts.

Landlords played a dominant role in NH-Grafton's Q4 2025 market, accounting for 95 out of 169 total SFR purchases, representing a significant 56.2% share. This indicates a highly active and influential investor segment in the local real estate landscape.

The buying activity in Q4 was exclusively driven by mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04), who were responsible for 100.0% of all landlord purchases, totaling 95 properties. This starkly contrasts with institutional investors (Tier 09), who recorded 0 purchases, reinforcing the local, small-scale nature of investor activity in this region.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) spearheaded Q4 purchasing, acquiring 91 properties, which accounts for an overwhelming 95.8% of all landlord purchases. This highlights the foundational role of new or expanding single-property owners in the current market's growth.

A total of 149 entities classified as single-property landlords (Tier 01) were active in Q4, contributing to the 91 properties purchased in this tier. This suggests a robust entry-level market, with many individual landlords expanding or establishing their portfolios.

The remaining limited Q4 activity came from two-property landlords (3 properties, 3.2% of landlord purchases by 4 entities) and small landlords (3-5 properties, 1 property, 1.1% by 1 entity), further underscoring the market's heavy reliance on the smallest investor tiers.

Mom-and-pop landlords, defined as those owning between 1 and 10 properties (Tiers 01-04), overwhelmingly dominate the investor-owned SFR market in NH-Grafton, controlling 99.7% of all properties in this category. This equates to 11,265 properties out of a total of 11,295 investor-owned SFR, showcasing a highly decentralized ownership structure.

The single-property landlord tier (Tier 01) forms the largest segment of the investor market, owning 10,217 properties, which represents 90.5% of all landlord-owned SFR. This concentration indicates that individuals taking their first steps into property investment or managing a single rental unit are the primary drivers of the rental housing supply in the county.

In stark contrast to the mom-and-pop dominance, institutional investors (Tier 09, owning 1000+ properties) have a negligible presence in NH-Grafton, holding only 1 property, which accounts for 0.0% of the total investor-owned SFR. This definitively refutes any narrative of large corporations monopolizing the rental market in this specific county.

The distribution beyond single-property owners rapidly declines, with two-property landlords (Tier 02) owning 642 properties (5.7%), and small landlords (Tiers 03-04) collectively holding 406 properties (3.6%). Even mid-size landlords (Tiers 05-08) have minimal representation, together owning only 30 properties (0.2%).

Comparing current Q4 purchase activity (Section 7) to overall ownership, the market consistently shows mom-and-pop dominance. Q4 purchases were 100.0% by mom-and-pop, mirroring their 99.7% overall ownership share, indicating that recent market growth is also primarily driven by these smaller investors.

Individual investors overwhelmingly maintain majority ownership across all reported portfolio tiers in NH-Grafton. They constitute 86.3% of single-property portfolios (Tier 01) with 9,253 properties, 71.6% of two-property portfolios (Tier 02) with 473 properties, and 63.1% of small landlord portfolios (Tier 03-05) with 231 properties.

There is no crossover point where companies become the majority owners in the tiers provided; individual ownership consistently holds the dominant share. This challenges assumptions that corporate entities quickly overtake smaller landlords as portfolio sizes increase.

Company ownership, while present, remains a minority across these tiers. Their highest concentration is observed in the small landlord tier (3-5 properties), where they hold 135 properties, representing 36.9% of that tier's total. This indicates that companies generally enter at slightly larger scales than the average individual investor, but still not as a majority.

The single-property tier (Tier 01) exhibits the highest concentration of individual investors, owning 9,253 properties, which underscores the prevalence of first-time or casual landlords within the market. This tier is the primary entry point for individual real estate investors.

Conversely, the two-property (Tier 02) and small landlord (Tier 03-05) tiers show a slight increase in company presence compared to Tier 01, suggesting that as portfolios grow beyond a single property, corporate structures begin to play a more significant, yet still minority, role in ownership.

Investor-owned properties in NH-Grafton are notably concentrated within specific zip codes. The top two regions by count, NH-Grafton-03222 and NH-Grafton-03223, house 1,070 and 795 investor-owned properties respectively, together accounting for a significant portion of the county's investor activity.

A striking pattern emerges when examining investor ownership rates: several smaller zip codes like NH-Grafton-03769, NH-Grafton-03753, and NH-Grafton-03749 exhibit a 100.0% investor ownership rate. This signifies areas where every SFR property is investor-owned, likely indicating specialized or very small markets.

The contrast between regions with high property counts and high ownership rates is pronounced. While zip codes like 03222 (40.7% rate) lead in total investor-owned properties, others like 03769 demonstrate full investor saturation, suggesting that market penetration doesn't always correlate with overall transaction volume.

NH-Grafton-03285 stands out as a region with both a high volume of investor-owned properties (673) and a significant investor ownership rate (51.1%). This dual high ranking suggests a particularly attractive or developed market for real estate investors, where a substantial portion of the housing stock is managed by landlords.

Overall, the geographic distribution data reveals a diverse landscape within NH-Grafton, ranging from large, active investor markets to highly specialized, fully investor-owned pockets. This indicates varied investment strategies and market conditions across the county's sub-regions.

Landlords in NH-Grafton are unequivocally net buyers, demonstrating a robust accumulation strategy throughout 2025. In Q4 2025, they bought 154 properties while selling only 7, resulting in an exceptionally high buy/sell ratio of 22.0x, indicating aggressive portfolio expansion.

This strong net buyer position is not new; landlords maintained high buy/sell ratios consistently across 2025, with 18.1x in Q3, 26.7x in Q2, and 20.7x for the entire Year 2025. The annual data also shows 828 buys against 35 sells in 2024, resulting in a 23.7x ratio, underscoring a persistent long-term accumulation trend.

While landlords remain net buyers, transaction volumes did see a quarter-over-quarter reduction from Q3 to Q4 2025. Purchases fell from 272 in Q3 to 154 in Q4, and sales dropped from 15 to 7 over the same period, signaling a general cooling of transaction activity in the most recent quarter.

The lack of any reported institutional (1000+ tier) transactions in the provided data suggests that large-scale corporate investors have no measurable buying or selling activity in NH-Grafton. This further reinforces the dominance of smaller, individual landlords in shaping the county's real estate market dynamics.

The high buy/sell ratios across multiple timeframes suggest a market where properties acquired by landlords tend to be held for the long term, with minimal turnover. This implies a stable, growing rental housing supply rather than speculative trading.

Landlords were a major force in the Q4 2025 market, participating in 154 out of 295 total SFR transactions, representing a substantial 52.2% share. This indicates that over half of all property exchanges during the quarter involved an investor.

Transaction activity was overwhelmingly concentrated within the single-property landlord tier (Tier 01), which accounted for 149 transactions—a dominant 96.8% of all landlord transactions in Q4. This reaffirms the single-property owner as the primary engine of local investor market dynamics.

Average purchase prices varied significantly across investor tiers in Q4. Two-property landlords (Tier 02) paid the highest average price at $751,250, followed by single-property landlords (Tier 01) at $427,747. In contrast, small landlords (Tier 03-05) paid the lowest at $305,000, demonstrating diverse pricing strategies or target property types across tiers.

Inter-landlord trading was minimal; only 7 transactions by single-property landlords (Tier 01) were identified as being bought from other landlords, representing just 4.7% of their total Q4 transactions. This suggests that the vast majority of landlord purchases originate from non-landlord sellers.

Comparing Q4 transaction activity to overall ownership distribution, single-property landlords (Tier 01) were even more active than their ownership share suggests (96.8% of Q4 transactions vs. 90.5% of overall ownership), highlighting increased dynamism from smaller investors in the most recent quarter. Institutional investors (Tier 09) registered no transactions during Q4, reinforcing their absence from this market.