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

In NY-Richmond County, landlords collectively own 16,749 SFR properties, which constitutes a significant 22.1% of the total SFR market of 75,811 properties. This indicates a robust investor presence within the county's housing landscape.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the market, owning 15,613 properties, accounting for 93.2% of all investor-owned SFR. In stark contrast, company-owned SFR properties stand at 1,560, representing a modest 9.3% of the total investor portfolio.

The investor market is heavily geared towards rentals, with 16,649 properties designated as rented, reflecting a nearly universal 99.4% rental-focused strategy among landlords. This highlights the primary objective of these holdings as income-generating assets.

A substantial portion of landlord properties, 12,844 (76.7%), are financed, indicating a reliance on leverage for acquisitions. Conversely, 3,905 properties (23.3%) are held outright in cash, showcasing a diverse range of financing strategies.

The sheer number of individual landlord entities, totaling 24,795, compared to 1,521 company landlords, establishes a clear dominance of 'mom-and-pop' operations, with individual entities outnumbering companies by a ratio of over 16 to 1 in NY-Richmond County.

The high percentage of individual landlords operating in the county suggests a fragmented market structure, primarily composed of smaller, independent investors rather than large corporate entities.

Contrary to national trends, landlords in NY-Richmond County paid a noticeable premium for SFR properties over traditional homeowners in Q4 2025, with an average acquisition price of $809,884 compared to homeowners' $762,567, representing a $47,317 or 6.2% higher cost.

The premium paid by landlords has shown volatility across recent quarters, peaking at a 10.3% difference in Q2 2025 ($795,223 vs $721,024) before narrowing to 6.2% in Q4 2025. This suggests fluctuating market dynamics affecting investor pricing strategies.

Comparing Q1 2025 where landlords paid a $19,449 (2.6%) premium to Q2 where it jumped to $74,199 (10.3%) and then settled to $47,317 (6.2%) in Q4 reveals a non-linear but consistent trend of landlords paying more, albeit with narrowing gaps recently.

A significant appreciation in landlord acquisition prices is evident, with the average price climbing from $657,900 during the 2020-2023 period to $809,884 in Q4 2025, marking a substantial 23.1% increase over four years.

The consistent payment of a premium by landlords suggests a competitive market in NY-Richmond County where investors are willing to pay above homeowner prices, potentially due to strong rental yields or long-term appreciation expectations.

Despite the lack of explicit individual vs. company pricing data in this section, the overall landlord premium signals a unified investor approach or similar market pressures regardless of owner type in the current quarter.

Landlords in NY-Richmond County secured a substantial 52.4% of all Single Family Residential (SFR) purchases in Q4 2025, acquiring 344 out of 656 total properties, underscoring their significant market presence.

The vast majority of landlord purchasing activity was driven by mom-and-pop investors (Tiers 01-04), who accounted for 339 properties, representing an overwhelming 96.9% of all landlord purchases during the quarter.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) emerged as the most active segment, purchasing 325 properties, which alone makes up 92.9% of all landlord-acquired properties in Q4 2025, with 513 distinct entities involved in these transactions.

This quarter saw a strong inflow of new or expanding small-scale investors, with 513 entities classified as single-property landlords actively purchasing, signaling continued growth at the base of the investor pyramid.

In stark contrast to mom-and-pop activity, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) made only 2 purchases, comprising a minimal 0.6% of landlord acquisitions in Q4, indicating a negligible purchasing footprint in this market.

The average properties per entity in Q4 highlights the small-scale nature of acquisitions; for instance, Tier 01 entities acquired 325 properties by 513 entities, averaging 0.63 properties per entity, meaning many individual entities were involved in their first or second property acquisition during the quarter.

The concentration of Q4 activity within the single-property tier (Tier 01) strongly suggests that the entry of new, smaller landlords is the primary driver of investor purchases in NY-Richmond County.

Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04), those holding 1 to 10 properties, command an overwhelming 99.6% of all investor-owned SFR properties in NY-Richmond County, underscoring their foundational role in the local rental market.

The distribution of ownership is highly concentrated at the lowest tier, with single-property landlords (Tier 01) alone holding 16,138 properties, which accounts for a dominant 95.4% of the total investor-owned portfolio.

In stark contrast to the mom-and-pop dominance, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) hold a negligible share, owning just 8 properties, translating to 0.0% of the total investor-owned SFR in the county.

The minimal presence of larger investors in NY-Richmond County challenges common narratives about institutional takeover, revealing a market primarily shaped by individual and small-scale investors.

The combined share of Tiers 01 (95.4%), 02 (2.2%), 03-05 (1.8%), and 06-10 (0.1%) strongly confirms that local, smaller landlords are the backbone of the SFR rental supply.

While specific pricing trends by tier across all timeframes are not provided, the overwhelming concentration in the mom-and-pop tiers indicates that their acquisition and holding patterns define the market's overall investor behavior and valuation.

The extremely low percentage for institutional investors suggests that NY-Richmond County may not offer the scale or specific investment profile sought by large-scale, high-volume property managers, leaving the market open for local participants.

In NY-Richmond County, individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the smallest portfolio sizes, holding 15,247 properties in the single-property tier (Tier 01), which represents 92.2% of ownership within that tier.

The market observes a clear crossover point where company ownership surpasses individual ownership as portfolio size grows; companies hold 80.0% of properties in the 6-10 property tier and an even higher 93.5% in the 11-20 property tier.

While individuals maintain a strong presence in the two-property tier (Tier 02) with 78.4% ownership and the three-to-five property tier (Tier 03-05) with 63.2%, their share rapidly diminishes in larger portfolio sizes.

The highest concentration of company ownership is found in the small-medium tier (11-20 properties), where they account for 29 properties, or 93.5% of the tier's holdings, indicating that larger portfolios are almost exclusively managed by entities.

Conversely, the single-property tier (Tier 01) shows the highest individual concentration, with 15,247 properties and a 92.2% share, firmly establishing this as the realm of independent landlords.

This pattern suggests that individual investors typically enter the market with one or two properties, expanding modestly, while companies tend to build or acquire larger portfolios to achieve economies of scale.

Despite the lack of specific pricing data by owner type and tier, the distinct ownership patterns highlight divergent investment strategies, with individuals focusing on smaller, potentially more hands-on operations, and companies targeting more substantial, managed portfolios.

Within NY-Richmond County, zip code 10312 stands out with the highest number of investor-owned properties, totaling 2,985 SFRs, representing a significant concentration of investor activity in a single area.

Following closely, zip code 10314 holds the second-highest count of investor-owned properties at 2,752, further establishing a pattern of concentrated investor interest in specific geographic pockets within the county.

When examining investor ownership rates, zip code 10303 leads with 24.2% of its SFR properties owned by investors, signaling a high market penetration of rental units in that area.

Zip codes 10302 and 10307 share the second-highest investor ownership rate at 23.5% each, indicating that over nearly a quarter of all SFR properties in these areas are held by landlords.

A notable correlation exists between high property counts and high ownership percentages, as zip code 10312 features prominently on both lists, ranking highest by count (2,985 properties) and sharing a top-tier ownership rate (22.7%).

The consistent appearance of certain zip codes across both top count and top percentage lists, such as 10312 (2,985 properties at 22.7%) and 10305 (1,462 properties at 22.7%), highlights regions where investors have both acquired a large volume of properties and achieved a high saturation within the local housing market.

The data suggests that investor activity in NY-Richmond County is not uniformly distributed but rather concentrated in specific zip codes, indicating targeted investment strategies rather than a county-wide spread.

Landlords in NY-Richmond County are robust net buyers, with a striking buy-to-sell ratio of 16.36x in Q4 2025, having acquired 540 properties while selling only 33, indicating a strong market accumulation trend.

This net buying trend has accelerated, with the Q4 2025 buy/sell ratio (16.36x) notably higher than Q3 2025 (14.86x) and the full year 2024 (11.92x), suggesting increasing confidence and acquisition velocity among landlords.

In stark contrast to the overall landlord market, institutional investors (1000+ tier) demonstrated a net neutral position in Q4 2025, with 2 buys and 2 sells, and have been net sellers over the broader Year 2025, divesting 6 properties against 5 acquisitions.

The persistent net-selling or neutral stance of institutional investors across 2024 and 2025 (e.g., 6 buys vs 9 sells in 2024) signals a strategic divestment or rebalancing of portfolios by larger players in the NY-Richmond County market.

The significant disparity between the aggressive buying of all landlords and the neutral to selling position of institutions highlights a bifurcated market, where smaller, individual investors are actively expanding their portfolios.

The absence of data on inter-landlord transactions in this section limits a full understanding of market liquidity and the proportion of properties traded between investors versus other market participants.

Despite the lack of average buy vs. sell price comparisons here, the substantial net buying across all landlords indicates a positive outlook on future property values or rental income potential in the county.

In Q4 2025, landlords in NY-Richmond County were central to the housing market, participating in 540 transactions which accounted for a significant 51.1% of the total 1,056 SFR transactions recorded.

Transaction volumes were heavily concentrated in the single-property landlord tier (Tier 01), which executed 513 transactions, clearly defining them as the most active segment of the investor market in Q4.

Institutional investors (1000+ tier) showed minimal activity, participating in only 2 transactions, which is a stark contrast to the widespread engagement of smaller landlords and highlights their peripheral role in quarterly transaction volumes.

Average purchase prices varied across tiers, with two-property landlords (Tier 02) paying the highest average price at $878,927, while medium-large landlords (Tier 51-100) secured the lowest average price at $680,739, indicating diverse investment strategies and market segment targeting.

Institutional investors acquired properties at an average price of $790,984, securing a 1.9% discount compared to the $805,903 paid by single-property landlords (Tier 01) on average in Q4.

Inter-landlord trading activity was highest for institutional investors, with 50.0% of their Q4 purchases (1 out of 2) originating from other landlords, suggesting a focused approach to acquiring properties already within investor portfolios.

The dominance of single-property landlords in Q4 transactions (513 deals) directly correlates with their overwhelming share in overall ownership (95.4% from Section 8), reaffirming their foundational role in the county's investor market.