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

Individual landlords overwhelmingly dominate the investor-owned Single Family Residential (SFR) market in Chenango County, holding 2,127 properties, which accounts for 91.9% of the total 2,315 investor-owned properties. Company-owned properties constitute a significantly smaller portion at 217 properties, or 9.4% of the market.

The overall landlord-owned portfolio comprises 2,315 SFR properties, representing 20.3% of the total 11,414 SFR properties in Chenango County. This indicates a substantial portion of the housing stock is dedicated to rental purposes, consistent with the definition of investor-owned properties being non-owner-occupied.

Analyzing property type composition reveals a strong preference for cash acquisitions among landlords. A total of 1,733 properties are owned outright in cash, far exceeding the 582 properties that are financed. This suggests a market where investors may prioritize lower debt exposure or have readily available capital for purchases.

Nearly all investor-owned properties are actively rented, with 2,300 properties classified as such. This close alignment with the total investor-owned count (2,315) underscores the primary focus of these holdings as income-generating rental assets within the county.

By entity count, individual landlords number 2,688, making up 93.0% of the total 2,889 landlords. This reinforces the 'mom-and-pop' nature of the investor market in Chenango County, where a large number of individual owners collectively manage the vast majority of rental properties, rather than a few large corporate entities.

In Q4 2025, landlords in Chenango County acquired properties at an average price of $163,215, marking a 4.0% discount compared to traditional homeowners, who paid $170,039. This represents a saving of $6,824 per property for landlords during the quarter.

The price gap between landlords and homeowners has shown significant volatility throughout 2025. While Q4 saw landlords benefiting from a discount, Q3 recorded landlords paying a substantial premium of $24,245 (13.5%) at an average of $203,498 versus homeowners' $179,253. Similarly, in Q2, landlords paid a $10,028 premium (6.5%) at $164,212 compared to homeowners' $154,184.

The first quarter of 2025 presented the largest landlord advantage, with investors securing an 18.8% discount, paying $144,142 against homeowners' $177,472, a difference of $33,330. This highlights a dynamic market where pricing opportunities for landlords have fluctuated drastically each quarter.

A notable trend across the listed timeframes is the absence of distinct SFR properties purchased by landlords, with '0 properties' recorded for each quarter and year from 2024 onwards. This suggests a period of extremely low or no new acquisition activity for landlords in the county, despite the presence of comparative average prices.

The given average prices for landlords in 2025 ($171,395) and 2024 ($160,443), along with pandemic-era prices (2020-2023) at $144,050, reveal a gradual increase in acquisition costs over time. However, the lack of recent purchase volume means these averages likely reflect a limited dataset or historical trends rather than ongoing robust market entry.

Landlords in Chenango County were highly active in Q4 2025, securing 52 of the total 104 SFR purchases, effectively capturing 50.0% of the market. This indicates that half of all single-family homes sold in the quarter were acquired for investment purposes.

The entirety of landlord purchase activity in Q4 was driven by mom-and-pop investors (Tiers 01-04), who accounted for 100.0% of the 52 landlord-owned properties acquired. This underscores the grassroots nature of the investor market in this geography, with no purchases recorded from larger, institutional players.

The Single-property tier (Tier 01) was the most active segment, responsible for 50 of the 52 landlord purchases (96.2%). This tier also saw 73 entities involved, suggesting a significant influx of new individual landlords or those expanding their portfolios with a single additional property.

In stark contrast to mom-and-pop activity, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) recorded no purchases in Q4, representing 0.0% of landlord acquisitions. This highlights their minimal or non-existent role in the recent acquisition market within Chenango County.

The remaining landlord purchases were modest, with the Two-property tier (Tier 02) accounting for 1 property (1.9%) by 1 entity, and the Small landlord tier (6-10 properties, Tier 04) also purchasing 1 property (1.9%) by 1 entity. This further emphasizes the concentration of Q4 activity at the smallest end of the investor spectrum.

Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04), defined as those owning 1-10 properties, overwhelmingly dominate the investor-owned SFR market in Chenango County, controlling a remarkable 98.8% of all investor-held properties. This translates to 2,306 out of 2,315 total investor properties, emphasizing their foundational role.

The market's concentration is particularly acute within the Single-property tier (Tier 01), where 2,136 properties are owned by landlords with just one property, accounting for 91.5% of the entire investor-owned SFR portfolio. This makes first-time or single-property landlords the backbone of the rental housing supply.

Mid-size landlords (Tiers 05-08) hold a minimal share, totaling 28 properties or approximately 1.2% of the market. This segment includes 18 properties in the 11-20 tier, 5 in the 21-50 tier, 2 in the 51-100 tier, and 3 in the 101-1000 tier, showcasing limited scaling beyond the mom-and-pop level.

Institutional investors (Tier 09), defined as owning 1000+ properties, have an almost non-existent presence in Chenango County, with only 1 property recorded. This accounts for a negligible 0.0% of the investor-owned SFR market, starkly contrasting with national narratives of institutional expansion.

The breakdown of ownership clearly indicates that local, small-scale investors are the primary drivers and holders of rental housing in Chenango County. The combined shares of the Two-property (3.7%), Small landlord (3-5 properties, 2.8%), and Small landlord (6-10 properties, 0.7%) tiers further solidify this pattern of decentralized ownership.

Individual investors maintain a significant majority across the smaller portfolio tiers. In the Single-property tier (Tier 01), individuals own 1,998 properties, representing 92.5% of holdings, while companies own 163 properties (7.5%). This pattern continues into the Two-property tier (Tier 02), where individuals hold 77 properties (88.5%) compared to 10 properties (11.5%) for companies.

A clear crossover point occurs at the Small landlord tier (6-10 properties), where companies become the majority owners. In this tier, companies own 10 properties (58.8%), surpassing individual owners who hold 7 properties (41.2%). This marks a shift in ownership structure as portfolio size increases.

For larger portfolios, companies further solidify their dominance. In the Large tier (101-1000 properties), companies own 2 properties (66.7%), while individuals hold just 1 property (33.3%). This trend indicates that larger-scale investing, even if limited in volume in Chenango County, is primarily driven by corporate entities.

The Small landlord tier (3-5 properties) also reflects individual investor strength, with 58 properties (87.9%) owned by individuals and 8 properties (12.1%) by companies. This consistent individual majority for portfolios up to five properties underscores their foundational presence in the county's investor market.

While specific data for the single institutional property (1000+ tier) by owner type is not provided, given the typical structure of institutional investors, it is highly probable that this one property is company-owned, aligning with the observed corporate shift in larger tiers.

Investor-owned properties in Chenango County are highly concentrated within specific zip codes. NY-Chenango-13460 leads by count, with 218 investor-owned properties, representing a 23.3% investor ownership rate within that area. This indicates a significant concentration of rental housing in this particular sub-geography.

Beyond raw counts, other zip codes demonstrate even higher investor penetration rates. NY-Chenango-13124 leads in this metric with 36.4% of its SFR properties being investor-owned, closely followed by NY-Chenango-13072 at 36.0%. These areas show that more than a third of their housing stock is held by landlords, signifying a deeply embedded rental market.

The zip code NY-Chenango-13801 stands out for its dual presence in both top lists. It ranks second by investor-owned property count with 98 properties and third by investor ownership rate at 31.0%. This indicates a robust and highly active investor market within this specific region of Chenango County.

Other key areas by count include NY-Chenango-13780 with 85 investor-owned properties (29.6% rate) and NY-Chenango-13809 with 55 properties (20.8% rate). These figures further illustrate the varied landscape of investor activity across different local areas within the county.

The data highlights a distinct pattern of localized investment hotspots. While some areas show high volumes of investor-owned properties, others exhibit a higher proportional rate of ownership, suggesting varying market dynamics and investor strategies across Chenango County's sub-geographies.

Landlords in Chenango County have been consistently strong net buyers, actively expanding their portfolios throughout 2025. Cumulatively for the year, they completed 241 buy transactions against only 25 sell transactions, resulting in a net acquisition of 216 properties and an impressive buy/sell ratio of 9.64x.

This robust buying activity accelerated dramatically in Q4 2025, with landlords executing 75 buy transactions while selling only 3 properties. This resulted in a net increase of 72 properties for the quarter, pushing the buy/sell ratio to an exceptionally high 25.0x, indicating aggressive accumulation of assets.

The trend of net buying is consistent across the year. In Q3, landlords recorded 62 buys against 12 sells (5.17x ratio), and in Q2, they made 64 buys with 6 sells (10.67x ratio). These quarterly figures confirm sustained landlord confidence and expansion efforts.

Comparing 2025 to the previous year, landlords remained active net buyers in 2024 as well, with 288 buy transactions against 33 sells, resulting in 255 net acquisitions. This consistent pattern over multiple years underscores a long-term strategy of portfolio growth rather than short-term trading.

Notably, there is no transaction data available for institutional investors (1000+ tier) in this section, suggesting their transactional presence in Chenango County is either minimal or non-existent, further reinforcing the dominance of smaller, individual landlords in the market's activity.

Landlords in Chenango County played a pivotal role in the Q4 2025 real estate market, participating in 75 of the total 148 SFR transactions. This means landlords accounted for a significant 50.7% of all property transactions during the quarter, highlighting their strong influence on market activity.

All landlord transactions in Q4 were exclusively conducted by mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04), who collectively completed 75 transactions. In contrast, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) recorded no transactions whatsoever, emphasizing the local and small-scale nature of the county's investment market.

The Single-property tier (Tier 01) was the most active segment, responsible for 73 transactions, demonstrating that the market's activity is heavily weighted towards new or very small-scale landlords. These single-property transactions had an average purchase price of $166,721.

Inter-landlord trading among single-property landlords (Tier 01) was minimal, with only 4 out of 73 transactions (5.5%) originating from other landlords. This low percentage suggests that the majority of Q4 acquisitions by this dominant tier were from traditional homeowners or non-investor sellers, rather than existing investor inventory.

Other mom-and-pop tiers showed limited Q4 transaction activity: the Two-property tier (Tier 02) completed 1 transaction at an average price of $50,600, and the Small landlord tier (6-10 properties, Tier 04) also completed 1 transaction at an average price of $55,000. No transactions in these tiers were from other landlords.

The overall Q4 transaction data reinforces the consistent dominance of mom-and-pop investors in Chenango County, not only in terms of ownership but also in driving market liquidity and acquisition patterns, primarily through direct purchases from non-investor sellers.