Union (NM) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

In Union County, NM, landlords own a limited portfolio of 18 SFR properties, representing a modest 3.3% of the total 553 SFR properties in the market. This indicates a relatively low penetration of investor activity in the county's housing market.

Individual landlords overwhelmingly dominate the investor landscape, holding 16 of the 18 SFR properties, which accounts for 88.9% of the investor-owned portfolio. Company-owned properties are minimal, comprising just 2 properties (11.1%).

Of the 17 investor-owned SFR properties detailed in this section's holding metrics, all 17 (100.0%) are classified as rented and non-owner-occupied. This highlights that landlord holdings in Union County, NM are exclusively for investment purposes rather than mixed-use or future owner-occupancy.

A striking characteristic for these 17 properties is that they were all acquired with cash, with 0 financed properties reported. This suggests a market where investors prefer or rely entirely on cash transactions for their SFR acquisitions, potentially due to market dynamics or lending conditions in Union County, NM.

The landscape of landlord entities further reinforces individual dominance, with 19 of the 21 distinct landlords (90.5%) being individuals. This signifies a market primarily composed of mom-and-pop investors, rather than institutional or corporate entities.

A significant observation for the Union County, NM market is the complete absence of acquisition pricing data for landlords, all purchasers, or traditional homeowners. This lack of information spans all reported timeframes, from Q4 2025 back to All Time.

Consequently, it is impossible to compare landlord acquisition prices to those of traditional homeowners, or to assess any potential price gaps or discounts that landlords might be receiving in this market.

The absence of pricing data also precludes any analysis of acquisition price trends quarter-over-quarter, year-over-year, or over longer historical periods like 2020-2023. This limits understanding of market appreciation or depreciation for SFR properties in Union County, NM.

Without specific pricing data by owner type, it is not possible to determine if individual and company landlords pay different average prices for their acquisitions in Union County, NM.

The unavailability of any acquisition pricing data points to an extremely illiquid or underexamined market in Union County, NM, at least regarding publicly reported transaction prices for SFR properties. This data gap is a key finding in itself, signaling limited market transparency or activity.

The Q4 2025 period in Union County, NM was marked by an absolute absence of SFR purchase activity. A total of 0 SFR properties were purchased by any buyer, and consequently, 0 properties were acquired by landlords.

This complete market inactivity means that landlords accounted for 0.0% of all Q4 SFR purchases in Union County, NM, as there were simply no purchases to report. This signals a highly stagnant or illiquid market during the quarter.

With no landlord purchases recorded, there were no new acquisitions by mom-and-pop landlords (Tier 01-04) or institutional investors (Tier 09) in Q4 2025. Both segments show 0.0% of landlord purchases, reflecting the market's complete quiescence.

The lack of Q4 purchases implies that no new landlords, including single-property (Tier 01) investors, entered the market in Union County, NM during this period. The number of entities active in each tier for Q4 purchases remains at zero.

The absence of any Q4 purchase activity across all tiers suggests that Union County, NM is not currently experiencing any significant market momentum or investor interest, at least in terms of new acquisitions, making it a notably inactive market during Q4 2025.

In Union County, NM, the vast majority of investor-owned SFR properties are held by mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04), who collectively control 17 properties, accounting for an overwhelming 94.4% of the market. This clearly demonstrates the foundational role of small-scale investors in the county's rental housing sector.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) form the backbone of the investor market in Union County, NM, owning 12 properties, which represents a significant 66.7% share of all investor-owned SFR. This highlights the prevalence of individuals making their initial foray into real estate investment or holding a single rental unit.

Despite the dominance of smaller landlords, Union County, NM notably features one institutional investor (Tier 09) that holds a single property, representing 5.6% of the total investor-owned SFR. This presence is noteworthy given the county's overall small investor market size.

The distribution of properties across tiers shows a strong concentration in the smallest segments: Tier 01 (12 properties, 66.7%), Tier 02 (1 property, 5.6%), and Tier 03-05 (4 properties, 22.2%). This emphasizes a fragmented market largely driven by individual, small-scale owners rather than large corporate entities.

Unfortunately, acquisition price data specific to each tier is unavailable for Union County, NM. This limits the ability to analyze whether larger investors pay more or less than smaller landlords, or how pricing strategies vary across different portfolio sizes.

With Q4 2025 purchases at zero (as noted in Section 7), there's no recent activity to suggest an evolution in tier distribution. The current ownership breakdown reflects historical accumulation rather than recent market shifts.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate SFR ownership across various portfolio tiers in Union County, NM, holding 16 of the 18 investor-owned properties, representing 88.9%. This pattern is consistent with the county's small market size and the prevalence of mom-and-pop landlords.

Specifically, in the single-property tier (Tier 01), individual investors own 11 properties (91.7%), with only 1 property (8.3%) owned by a company. This indicates that even at the smallest scale, individuals are the primary actors.

For mid-size portfolios, individual ownership is absolute: 100.0% of properties in both the two-property (Tier 02) and small landlord (Tier 03-05) tiers are owned by individuals, with no company presence reported in these segments.

Based on the overall company property count of 2 and the reported 1 company property in Tier 01, it can be inferred that the remaining company-owned property in Union County, NM falls into the institutional (Tier 09) category. This suggests companies, though few, operate at both the micro and macro ends of the portfolio spectrum here.

Unfortunately, pricing data differentiating between individual and company acquisition prices within each tier is unavailable for Union County, NM. This prevents any detailed analysis of differing buying strategies or cost advantages between these owner types.

Given the complete absence of Q4 acquisition activity (as noted in Section 7), it is not possible to assess recent growth patterns or shifts in ownership between individual and company investors over time in Union County, NM.

Within Union County, NM, investor-owned SFR properties show a distinct geographic concentration at the zip code level. The 88415 zip code leads the county with 11 investor-owned properties, representing 2.2% of its total SFR market. This makes it the primary hub for investor activity in the county by count.

While 88415 has the highest count, other zip codes exhibit significantly higher investor ownership rates. Specifically, zip code 88424 reports the highest investor-owned percentage at 30.0%, indicating a substantial portion of its SFR market is held by landlords, though its total property count is not provided for context.

Following closely in investor penetration, zip code 88418 shows a notable 16.7% investor ownership rate with 2 properties, and 88419 has a 14.3% rate with 1 property. These higher percentages, even with fewer properties, suggest concentrated landlord presence relative to the local market size.

The disparate distribution highlights that while 88415 accounts for the bulk of properties, areas like 88424, 88418, and 88419 represent zones where investor activity makes up a larger proportion of the overall housing stock, potentially indicating different market dynamics or investment opportunities within those smaller pockets.

Unfortunately, acquisition price data for specific geographic regions within Union County, NM is unavailable. This limits the ability to analyze how property values or investment costs vary across these differing zones of investor concentration.

A comprehensive analysis of historical transaction activity for landlords in Union County, NM is not possible due to a complete absence of data. There are no recorded buy or sell transactions for all landlords, nor specifically for institutional investors (1000+ tier) across any timeframe.

This critical data gap prevents determination of whether landlords, either overall or specifically institutional entities, have been net buyers or net sellers in Union County, NM. Without transaction counts, a buy/sell ratio cannot be established.

Furthermore, the lack of transaction data means there is no information on the percentage of buy or sell transactions involving other landlords (inter-landlord trading). This limits understanding of market liquidity and the prevalence of investor-to-investor property transfers.

Average buy and sell prices for historical transactions are also unavailable, making it impossible to assess implied profit margins or pricing strategies over time for landlords in Union County, NM. This data absence spans all reported timeframes, including Q4, Q3, earlier quarters, and annual summaries.

The complete lack of historical transaction data suggests an extremely low volume of recorded activity for investor properties in Union County, NM, or a significant data reporting limitation for this specific market. This finding is central to understanding the market's liquidity and investor engagement.

Union County, NM experienced a complete standstill in SFR transactions during Q4 2025, with a total of 0 transactions recorded. Consequently, landlord-involved transactions also stood at 0, indicating a 0.0% share of the market for the quarter.

The absolute lack of Q4 transactions means that no landlord entities, across any tier, made purchases or sales. This prevents any analysis of transaction volumes across investor tiers, as all tiers reported zero activity for the quarter.

With no purchases, there are no average purchase prices by tier to report for Q4 2025. Therefore, it is impossible to determine which tiers, if any, paid more or less for properties during the quarter, or to assess price spreads between tiers.

Similarly, the absence of transactions precludes any analysis of inter-landlord trading activity for Q4 2025. There were 0 properties bought from other landlords, making it impossible to identify which tiers rely more heavily on such transactions.

The total market inactivity in Q4 2025 for Union County, NM for SFR properties underscores a profoundly quiet period for real estate investors. This absence of transaction data limits insights into current market dynamics, liquidity, and investor behavior.