Ross (OH) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Landlords in Ross County collectively own 2,643 Single Family Residential (SFR) properties, constituting 13.8% of the total 19,202 SFR properties in the market, indicating a moderate investor presence.

Individual investors represent the backbone of the landlord market, owning 1,919 SFR properties, which accounts for 72.6% of the total investor-owned portfolio. Company ownership is significantly smaller, holding 762 properties (28.8%).

The landscape of landlord entities further reinforces individual dominance, with 2,043 individual landlords compared to just 308 company landlords, demonstrating a 6.63x higher ratio of individual entities.

The investor-owned portfolio is heavily geared towards rentals, with 2,500 properties designated as rented, representing 94.6% of all landlord-owned SFR, underscoring a strong focus on non-owner-occupied investments.

A notable pattern in current holdings is the prevalence of cash-acquired properties, with 2,009 properties held in cash, contrasting with 634 properties that are financed, suggesting a preference for lower leverage among existing holdings.

While specific breakdowns by owner type for rented, financed, and cash are not provided, the overall composition suggests that the majority of rented properties likely stem from individual investors, given their large share of the total portfolio.

The high percentage of rented properties combined with the significant individual ownership points to a market primarily served by smaller, local landlords focused on long-term rental income.

Landlords consistently acquired properties at a significant discount compared to traditional homeowners throughout 2025. In Q4 2025, landlords paid an average of $91,033, which was $147,592 less than homeowners who paid $238,625, equating to a remarkable 61.9% discount.

This pricing advantage for landlords was a recurring theme, with substantial discounts observed in every quarter of 2025: 44.8% in Q3 ($136,512 vs $247,197), 63.9% in Q2 ($96,684 vs $268,114), and 60.1% in Q1 ($92,231 vs $231,366).

The magnitude of the price gap between landlords and homeowners has varied, with the largest percentage discount recorded in Q2 2025 at 63.9%, and the lowest in Q3 2025 at 44.8%, indicating fluctuating market dynamics or specific deal opportunities.

Despite average acquisition prices being recorded for landlords in various timeframes for 2024 and 2025 (e.g., $104,694 for Year 2025), the number of distinct SFR properties purchased by landlords for these aggregated timeframes is reported as 0, which contradicts the existence of actual landlord purchases documented in Q4 2025.

The presence of detailed average acquisition prices for landlords across different quarters, even when reported property counts are zero in some aggregate views, suggests that when landlords do purchase, they are highly strategic in their pricing.

The absence of specific individual versus company acquisition prices in the provided data prevents a direct comparison of their respective buying strategies based on price, but the overall landlord discounts remain a strong indicator.

The consistent, albeit variable, discount secured by landlords signals their ability to identify and acquire properties below general market rates, potentially through off-market deals or distressed sales that traditional homeowners may not access.

In Q4 2025, landlords significantly influenced the housing market in Ross County, responsible for 39 of the total 213 SFR purchases, which represents a substantial 18.3% share of all acquisitions.

Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) were the primary drivers of investor activity, collectively purchasing 27 properties, accounting for a dominant 69.2% of all landlord acquisitions during the quarter.

New entrants to the landlord market, specifically single-property landlords (Tier 01), showed robust activity, with 16 entities acquiring 14 properties, representing 35.9% of all landlord purchases.

In stark contrast to the mom-and-pop segment, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) had minimal Q4 purchasing activity, acquiring only 1 property, which constituted a mere 2.6% of landlord purchases.

The purchasing activity was highly concentrated among smaller and mid-size landlords, with Tiers 01-04 and Tiers 05-08 collectively driving the vast majority of Q4 acquisitions, reflecting a bottom-up market structure.

Tier 01 entities, with 16 active landlords, acquired an average of 0.88 properties per entity (14 properties / 16 entities), indicating that most new landlords are starting with a single property.

The highest concentration of Q4 activity, in terms of properties purchased by a single tier, belonged to single-property landlords (Tier 01), further emphasizing their pivotal role in current market acquisitions.

Ross County's investor-owned SFR market is overwhelmingly dominated by mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties), who collectively control an impressive 86.7% of all investor-owned housing across Tiers 01-04.

The largest individual segment within the landlord market is composed of single-property owners (Tier 01), who hold 1,465 properties, accounting for 53.6% of the total investor-owned portfolio, solidifying their role as the market's foundation.

In stark contrast to media narratives, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) maintain a negligible footprint in Ross County, owning just 7 properties, which represents a mere 0.3% of the total landlord-owned SFR.

The distribution of ownership shows a sharp decline in property counts as portfolio size increases; for example, Tier 01 (1,465 properties) is dramatically larger than Tier 06-10 (282 properties) and even more so than Tier 09 (7 properties).

While the data details ownership by tier, specific acquisition prices associated with these tiers across all timeframes (All Time, Q4, 2024, 2020-2023) are not available in the provided dataset to analyze price variations.

The significant concentration in the mom-and-pop segment, from single-property owners to those with up to 10 properties, underscores that the vast majority of investment housing in Ross County is managed by smaller, local investors rather than large corporations.

The total number of distinct SFR properties listed by tier sums to 2,731, slightly differing from the 2,643 total investor-owned properties cited elsewhere, but the distribution pattern clearly shows mom-and-pop dominance.

The ownership dynamic in Ross County shifts notably as portfolio size increases: individual investors dominate smaller portfolios, but companies emerge as the majority owners starting with Tier 04 (6-10 properties).

Specifically, in the 6-10 property tier, companies own 54.9% (157 properties) compared to individuals at 45.1% (129 properties), marking the crossover point where company ownership becomes more prevalent.

Below this threshold, individual investors maintain substantial control, exemplified by single-property portfolios (Tier 01) where individuals own 1,304 properties (87.9%) versus companies owning 179 properties (12.1%).

The trend continues into larger mid-size tiers: for portfolios of 11-20 properties, company ownership grows to 71.3% (119 properties) against individual ownership at 28.7% (48 properties), indicating increasing corporate concentration in these segments.

The highest concentration of individual ownership is clearly within the single-property (Tier 01) segment at 87.9%, showcasing that new and small landlords are almost exclusively individuals.

Conversely, the highest company concentration appears in the 11-20 property tier at 71.3%, suggesting that companies become more active and dominant as portfolios scale beyond the mom-and-pop range.

The provided data does not include specific acquisition prices by tier and owner type, precluding an analysis of pricing differences or growth patterns based on individual versus company purchasing strategies over time.

Within Ross County, the zip code OH-Ross-45601 stands out as the epicenter of investor activity, housing 2,055 landlord-owned SFR properties, which accounts for a 14.2% investor ownership rate within that area.

While OH-Ross-45601 dominates by sheer property count, other zip codes exhibit higher investor penetration rates. OH-Ross-45633, for instance, reports a 100.0% investor ownership rate, suggesting a highly specialized or very small sub-market entirely owned by landlords.

Following closely in terms of high ownership rates, OH-Ross-43101 shows a substantial 23.9% investor ownership, indicating it is a concentrated area for rental properties despite not having the highest raw count.

The top 5 regions by investor-owned count are OH-Ross-45601 (2,055 properties), OH-Ross-45628 (146 properties), OH-Ross-45644 (96 properties), and OH-Ross-45612 (94 properties), demonstrating clear geographic pockets of investor concentration.

Conversely, the top 5 regions by ownership percentage reveal smaller, highly saturated markets: OH-Ross-45633 (100.0%), OH-Ross-43101 (23.9%), OH-Ross-45673 (21.1%), and OH-Ross-43160 (19.6%), indicating investors are targeting these areas heavily relative to total SFR stock.

There isn't a direct correlation between regions with the highest counts and those with the highest percentages; OH-Ross-45601 leads in counts but is not the highest in percentage, showing a broader distribution of total SFR. This implies investor activity is widespread but concentrated in specific high-demand zip codes.

Acquisition prices across these specific geographic regions are not provided in the current dataset, preventing an analysis of price variations and investment cost strategies at the zip code level.

Landlords in Ross County demonstrate a strong net buyer position, actively expanding their portfolios over the past two years. In Q4 2025 alone, they conducted 42 buy transactions versus 20 sell transactions, resulting in a buy/sell ratio of 2.10x and a net gain of 22 properties.

This trend of net accumulation is consistent across all reported timeframes: for Year 2025, landlords bought 167 properties and sold 96, with a net gain of 71; in Year 2024, they were even more active with 183 buys and 77 sells, for a net gain of 106 properties.

Institutional investors (1000+ tier), however, showed a different pattern, maintaining a neutral stance in 2025 with 3 buys and 3 sells, indicating no net portfolio expansion or reduction within the year.

In the previous year, 2024, institutional investors were net buyers, acquiring 3 properties and selling only 1, resulting in a net gain of 2 properties, which suggests a shift from accumulation to neutrality in the current year.

The provided data does not include the percentage of buy or sell transactions that are landlord-to-landlord, nor does it provide average buy versus sell prices, thus preventing an analysis of inter-landlord trading volume or implied profit margins.

The consistent net buying activity of all landlords collectively signals confidence in the Ross County market and a continued demand for SFR properties for investment purposes.

The divergence in behavior between all landlords (net buyers) and institutional investors (neutral) indicates that smaller, local investors are currently driving market expansion, while larger players are either consolidating or pausing new acquisitions.

Landlords in Ross County played a significant role in Q4 2025, being involved in 42 of the total 305 SFR transactions, representing a 13.8% share of all market activity.

Transaction volumes varied by investor tier, with single-property landlords (Tier 01) being the most active, completing 16 transactions. This was followed by small-medium landlords (21-50 properties) and small landlords (6-10 properties), each with 6 transactions.

A notable pricing disparity exists between investor tiers: single-property landlords (Tier 01) paid an average purchase price of $60,713, which is 78.8% less than institutional investors (Tier 09) who paid significantly more at an average of $108,547.

Inter-landlord trading was most prevalent among single-property buyers (Tier 01), who acquired 6 out of their 16 transactions (37.5%) from other landlords, suggesting a robust internal market for smaller portfolios.

In contrast, institutional investors (Tier 09) completed only 1 transaction in Q4 and did not acquire any properties from other landlords, indicating their minimal reliance on the landlord-to-landlord market for acquisitions in this period.

The average purchase price by tier shows a varied strategy; while Tier 01 pays the least, mid-size landlords (Tier 06-10 and Tier 21-50) paid higher average prices of $114,550 and $183,700 respectively, suggesting different investment objectives or property types.

Comparing Q4 tier activity to overall ownership distribution (Section 8), mom-and-pop landlords (Tier 01-04) continued to be highly active in transactions, aligning with their dominant ownership share and reinforcing their ongoing market engagement.