Broome (NY) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Landlords in Broome County, NY, control a significant portion of the SFR market, owning 7,063 properties, which accounts for 14.2% of the county's total 49,832 SFR properties.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the landlord landscape, holding 6,211 properties (87.9% of investor-owned SFR), a stark contrast to company-owned properties at 936 (13.3%). This highlights the prevalence of small-scale investors in the county.

The vast majority of landlord-owned properties are utilized as rentals, with 6,931 properties reported as rented, indicating a strong focus on income generation from their portfolio.

Cash purchases significantly outweigh financed ones in the overall landlord portfolio, with 4,607 properties bought with cash versus 2,456 properties financed, suggesting a preference for liquidity or avoidance of debt among investors in the county.

The distribution of landlord entities further reinforces the individual investor dominance, as 8,083 individual landlords account for 92.2% of the total 8,763 landlords, while company landlords represent a smaller 7.8% (680 entities).

Considering that all 7,063 investor-owned SFR properties are non-owner-occupied, this confirms the entire landlord portfolio is dedicated to rental purposes, serving the broader housing market needs.

In Q4 2025, landlords in Broome County paid an average of $219,465 for SFR properties, a 1.5% premium ($3,213) compared to traditional homeowners who paid $216,252, marking a shift from previous quarters.

The landlord-homeowner price dynamic has shown considerable volatility quarter-over-quarter; landlords secured a 6.2% discount in Q2 2025 ($214,002 vs $228,140) but then paid a substantial 15.3% premium in Q3 2025 ($244,990 vs $212,554).

Despite zero explicit recorded purchases by landlords in the `Distinct SFR Properties Purchased` metric for 2025 and 2024, the provided price comparison data reveals a significant overall price appreciation for landlord acquisitions, with Q4 2025 prices ($219,465) showing a 32.6% increase from the 2020-2023 average of $165,566.

The trend in acquisition prices for landlords indicates a generally increasing market, with average prices rising from $195,351 in Q1 2025 to $219,465 in Q4 2025, albeit with a dip in Q2.

The fluctuation between discounts and premiums suggests a dynamic local market where landlord purchasing strategies may vary significantly based on market conditions or property types, rather than a consistent pricing advantage.

While the overall acquisition prices have risen, the reported zero distinct properties purchased by landlords in recent quarters from section6-1.csv suggests that the acquisition volume by landlords in these periods may be minimal, indicating caution or a lack of suitable inventory.

Landlords significantly influenced the Broome County market in Q4 2025, securing 254 SFR properties, which represents a substantial 47.1% of the total 539 SFR purchases made during the quarter.

The market activity was overwhelmingly driven by smaller investors, with mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) making 253 purchases, constituting 97.7% of all landlord acquisitions in Q4 2025. This highlights their continued dominance in market entry and expansion.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) proved to be the most active segment, acquiring 232 properties, which alone accounts for 89.6% of all landlord purchases in Q4 2025. This demonstrates a strong influx or expansion of first-time or small-scale investors.

A notable 326 entities classified as single-property landlords (Tier 01) were active in purchasing this quarter, indicating a robust entry of new individual investors into the Broome County rental market.

In contrast to the high activity of smaller landlords, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) made no purchases in Q4 2025, holding 0.0% of landlord purchases, underscoring their minimal direct acquisition presence in this market.

The average properties per entity in Q4 2025 show that smaller tiers have a high number of entities relative to properties purchased, for example, Tier 01 saw 232 properties purchased by 326 entities, suggesting many distinct buyers with smaller individual transaction volumes.

The landscape of investor-owned SFR properties in Broome County is overwhelmingly dominated by mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04), who collectively control 7,027 properties, representing a significant 97.9% of the total investor-owned housing stock.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) are the primary backbone of the market, owning 6,109 properties, which accounts for 85.1% of all investor-owned SFR, demonstrating their outsized influence and presence.

Conversely, institutional investors (Tier 09), those owning 1000+ properties, have a negligible footprint in Broome County, holding only 8 properties, which translates to a mere 0.1% of the investor-owned market.

The concentration of ownership within the smallest tiers is striking, with two-property landlords (Tier 02) holding 5.4% (384 properties) and small landlords (3-5 properties) owning 5.5% (395 properties), reinforcing the grassroots nature of the county's rental market.

Mid-size landlord tiers (11-1000 properties) collectively represent a small fraction of the total ownership, with Tiers 11-20 holding 0.6% (45 properties), Tiers 21-50 holding 0.3% (21 properties), and Tiers 51-100 holding 0.8% (55 properties), further highlighting the limited presence of larger-scale investors.

The absence of explicit tier pricing data in the summary prevents an analysis of how acquisition prices vary by investor size, or whether larger investors pay more or less per property across all-time, Q4, or other timeframes.

Similarly, without historical tier distribution data beyond current ownership percentages, it is not possible to determine if the tier distribution has evolved over time or if institutional investors are growing or shrinking their portfolios.

A distinct crossover point occurs in Broome County where company ownership surpasses individual ownership; while individuals dominate up to the 6-10 property tier (55.4% individual), companies become the majority in portfolios with 21-50 properties (95.2% company-owned).

Individual investors are the driving force behind smaller portfolios, comprising 92.1% of single-property (Tier 01) holdings and 76.7% of two-property (Tier 02) holdings, underscoring the mom-and-pop foundation of the market.

Even in slightly larger 'small landlord' tiers, individuals maintain a strong lead, owning 60.9% of properties in the 3-5 property tier and 55.4% in the 6-10 property tier, though company presence significantly increases in these segments.

The dramatic shift to company majority in the 21-50 property tier (95.2% company, 4.8% individual) indicates that once portfolios reach a certain scale, corporate structures become the preferred or more effective ownership model.

This suggests that while market entry and initial growth are largely individual-driven, larger-scale accumulation and management are predominantly handled by corporate entities, illustrating a bifurcation in investor strategy by portfolio size.

The data summary provided does not allow for a comparison of acquisition prices between individual and company landlords within each tier, nor does it reveal differing growth patterns when comparing all-time ownership against Q4 activity by owner type.

In Broome County, NY, specific zip codes exhibit concentrated investor activity, with NY-Broome-13760 having the highest count of investor-owned properties at 1,342, representing an 11.7% investor ownership rate.

Following closely, NY-Broome-13850 reports 945 investor-owned properties, with a 13.6% investor ownership rate, further highlighting pockets of significant landlord presence within the county.

Distinct from sheer property count, NY-Broome-13783 stands out with the highest investor ownership rate at an exceptional 66.7%, indicating a market highly saturated with rental properties relative to its total SFR stock.

Another high-rate region, NY-Broome-13794, shows 40.0% investor ownership, signaling that certain smaller or niche areas within the county are disproportionately appealing to landlords.

The limited non-`nan` data points prevent a comprehensive analysis of the top 5-10 regions by count and rate, but the available data clearly identifies areas of heightened investor activity and market penetration.

The disparity between high count and high percentage regions (e.g., 13760 has a high count but moderate percentage, while 13783 has a very high percentage) suggests different market dynamics, where some areas attract a large volume of investors while others are dominated by investors due to smaller overall housing stock.

The provided data summary does not include specific acquisition prices for these sub-geographies, thus preventing an analysis of how pricing strategies vary across different regions within Broome County.

Landlords in Broome County are overwhelmingly net buyers, with Q4 2025 showing a robust buy-to-sell ratio of 10.94x, driven by 361 buy transactions against only 33 sell transactions.

This strong net buying trend is consistent throughout 2025, where landlords recorded 1,375 buy transactions versus 142 sell transactions, resulting in a net increase of 1,233 properties for the year, indicating active portfolio expansion.

While overall landlords are accumulating properties, institutional investors (1000+ tier) showed a different pattern, being net sellers in Year 2024 with 3 buys against 13 sells (a 0.23x ratio), suggesting a divestment strategy during that period.

However, institutional investors shifted to a net buyer position in Year 2025, with 10 buys and 8 sells, leading to a modest net increase of 2 properties, indicating a more balanced or cautious approach compared to the previous year.

The consistent high buy-to-sell ratio for all landlords (11.05x in 2024, 9.68x in 2025, 10.94x in Q4 2025) underscores a market where investors are actively growing their portfolios rather than divesting.

The provided data summary does not include details on the percentage of buy transactions originating from other landlords or average buy and sell prices, preventing an analysis of inter-landlord market liquidity or implied profit margins.

The contrasting behavior between all landlords (consistent strong buyers) and institutional investors (shifting from net sellers to slight net buyers) highlights different market strategies based on investor scale and objectives.

Landlords were a dominant force in Q4 2025, participating in 361 of the 783 total SFR transactions, which translates to a significant 46.1% share of all market activity in Broome County.

Transaction volumes varied significantly by tier, with single-property landlords (Tier 01) driving the majority of activity, engaging in 327 transactions, far surpassing all other tiers combined.

Smaller landlords generally paid higher average purchase prices, with Tier 01 buyers averaging $225,903. This contrasts with larger small-medium tiers like 21-50, which recorded a much lower average price of $64,400 for their 5 transactions, indicating differing property value strategies or segments.

Inter-landlord trading was relatively low across all tiers, with Tier 01 purchasing only 18 properties (5.5%) from other landlords, and most other active tiers showing 0.0% of transactions originating from landlords, suggesting properties are primarily acquired from non-landlord sellers.

The price spread between the highest and lowest average purchase price across active tiers is substantial, ranging from $225,903 for Tier 01 to $64,400 for Tier 21-50, reflecting diverse investment strategies and property acquisition targets.

The absence of any reported transactions for institutional investors (Tier 09) in Q4 2025 prevents a direct comparison of their transaction prices or inter-landlord reliance with mom-and-pop landlords.

The high transaction activity of mom-and-pop tiers, particularly Tier 01, compared to their overall ownership distribution, suggests a dynamic market where smaller investors are actively entering or expanding their portfolios, reinforcing their foundational role in the Broome County market.