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

In Scioto County, investors collectively own 4,911 SFR properties, representing 24.1% of the total SFR market, indicating a significant but not majority share of the housing stock. This portfolio is overwhelmingly dominated by individual investors, who hold 3,984 properties (81.1%), contrasting with companies owning 965 properties (19.6%).

The investor-owned portfolio demonstrates a strong rental focus, with 4,786 properties, or 97.5% of all landlord-owned SFR units, being rented. This highlights that the vast majority of these properties serve as income-generating assets rather than being left vacant or owner-occupied.

A notable financial characteristic of these holdings is the prevalence of cash purchases; 4,557 properties are owned outright in cash, while only 354 properties are financed. This suggests a preference for unencumbered assets or a market where cash buyers hold a significant advantage.

While individual investors own 81.1% of properties, they represent an even larger share of landlord entities, with 4,631 individual landlords (91.1% of the 5,083 total landlord entities). This reinforces the 'mom-and-pop' nature of the market, where many individual owners hold relatively small portfolios.

The data clearly illustrates that the SFR investment market in Scioto County is primarily driven by numerous individual landlords managing a significant rental stock, predominantly acquired through cash, rather than a market dominated by corporate entities or heavily financed portfolios.

In Q4 2025, landlords in Scioto County demonstrated a significant pricing advantage, acquiring properties for an average of $99,612. This price was a substantial $86,902 (46.6%) less than the average $186,514 paid by traditional homeowners, revealing a robust ability to source discounted properties.

The price gap between landlords and homeowners has shown considerable volatility throughout 2025. The discount peaked at an impressive 59.6% in Q2 (landlord $83,160 vs homeowner $205,602), then narrowed to 26.6% in Q3 (landlord $144,124 vs homeowner $196,400), before widening again in Q4.

Looking at broader trends, landlord acquisition prices have shown a notable appreciation from the pandemic-era. The average price increased from $92,955 during 2020-2023 to $107,435 in 2025, marking a 15.6% rise, indicating a recovering or strengthening market value for investor-purchased properties.

Despite quarterly fluctuations, the average landlord acquisition price remained remarkably stable year-over-year, with 2025 averaging $107,435, very close to 2024's average of $108,088. This suggests a consistent market valuation for properties appealing to investors.

The persistent and often substantial discount secured by landlords suggests a strategic advantage in identifying and acquiring properties below market value, or a focus on properties that do not typically attract traditional homeowners at higher price points, reinforcing their distinct market role in Scioto County.

In Q4 2025, landlords in Scioto County were active in the market, making 41 distinct SFR purchases, which accounted for 18.1% of the total 227 SFR purchases observed during the quarter. This highlights a measurable but not overwhelming presence of investors in the overall Q4 housing transaction volume.

Mom-and-pop landlords (Tier 01-04) significantly drove this purchasing activity, acquiring 38 properties which represented 86.4% of Q4 landlord acquisitions by properties. This contrasts sharply with institutional investors (Tier 09), who accounted for only 2 properties, or 4.5% of landlord acquisitions.

The smallest landlords, those owning a single property (Tier 01), were particularly active, responsible for 23 of the purchases. This represents 52.3% of the Q4 landlord acquisitions by properties, involving 33 distinct entities, indicating a strong influx of new or expanding small-scale investors into the market.

Mid-size landlords (Tiers 05-08) also contributed to Q4 activity, with tiers 11-20 and 101-1000 making 3 and 1 purchases respectively. This reveals a broad participation across various landlord tiers, though heavily skewed towards the smaller end of the spectrum.

The high percentage of purchases by Tier 01 entities (52.3%) underscores that growth in Scioto County's investor market is primarily driven by individuals entering the landlord space, rather than expansion by larger, established entities, further cementing the mom-and-pop investor base.

The investor-owned SFR market in Scioto County is overwhelmingly dominated by mom-and-pop landlords (Tier 01-04), who collectively control 4,690 properties, accounting for a commanding 93.0% of the total 5,042 investor-owned SFRs. This reveals a market structure heavily reliant on smaller-scale investors.

Specifically, single-property landlords (Tier 01) form the backbone of this market, holding 3,518 properties, which alone represent 69.8% of all investor-owned SFR units. This highlights the prevalence of individuals entering or maintaining small rental portfolios.

In stark contrast to the mom-and-pop dominance, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) have a negligible footprint in Scioto County, owning just 7 properties, which translates to a mere 0.1% of the total investor-owned SFR market. This challenges national narratives suggesting widespread institutional control.

While mid-size landlords (Tiers 05-08, 11-1000 properties) hold a combined 7.0% of the market, their share is significantly dwarfed by the smaller mom-and-pop segment. This indicates a consistent market structure across various investment sizes, with a clear bias towards smaller portfolios.

Acquisition price variations by tier are not available in the provided data for Scioto County, precluding an analysis of whether larger or smaller investors typically pay more or less for properties.

The distribution of individual versus company ownership varies significantly across portfolio tiers in Scioto County. While individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the single-property (Tier 01) segment, holding 92.9% of units compared to companies' 7.1%, this balance shifts as portfolio size increases.

A critical crossover point occurs within the 6-10 property tier (Tier 04), where individual and company ownership becomes equal, with both holding 104 properties, representing a 50.0% split each. This marks the transition where corporate entities begin to gain significant ground.

Beyond the 6-10 property tier, companies assert majority ownership; in the 11-20 property tier (Tier 05), companies control 68.3% of properties (112 units) compared to individuals' 31.7% (52 units). This pattern suggests that larger portfolios are increasingly managed under corporate structures.

Individual investors maintain a strong majority in the smaller landlord tiers (e.g., Tier 02 at 76.8% individual, Tier 03-05 at 62.0% individual). This reinforces the widespread presence of individual landlords, but also highlights their tendency to operate at lower property counts.

Information regarding the breakdown of institutional (1000+ properties) ownership between individual and company entities, as well as acquisition pricing differences between individual and company buyers within each tier, is not available in the provided data for Scioto County.

Within Scioto County, investor-owned properties exhibit clear geographic concentrations at the zip code level. The 45662 zip code stands out with the highest count of investor-owned properties at 2,403, representing a 27.2% investor ownership rate.

While 45662 leads in sheer volume, other zip codes show higher investor penetration rates. Scioto-45630 boasts the highest investor ownership percentage at 66.7%, indicating a significant portion of its SFR housing stock is investor-controlled, followed by Scioto-45677 at 50.0%.

These patterns reveal a distinction between areas with high numbers of investor-owned properties and those with high investor ownership rates. A zip code can have a high count but a moderate rate if it has a large total housing stock, or a high rate with fewer properties if its total housing stock is small.

The available data for Scioto County shows limitations, with several zip codes such as 45636, 45640, and 45659 reporting 'nan' for investor-owned properties, which restricts a comprehensive analysis of investor distribution across all sub-geographies.

The top zip code by count, 45662 (2,403 properties), along with 45694 (583 properties), highlights specific areas within Scioto County that are focal points for real estate investors. Understanding these micro-market dynamics is crucial for targeted investment or policy strategies.

Landlords in Scioto County consistently maintained a net buyer position throughout 2024 and 2025. In Q4 2025, they acquired 58 properties while selling 32, resulting in a positive net acquisition of 26 properties and a buy/sell ratio of 1.81x.

This trend of net accumulation is evident across recent quarters: Q3 2025 saw 84 buys vs 27 sells (3.11x ratio), and Q2 2025 had 69 buys vs 28 sells (2.46x ratio). For the full year 2025, landlords bought 291 properties against 124 sells, signaling a deliberate expansion of their portfolios.

Institutional investors (1000+ properties) presented a more varied transaction profile. While they were net buyers for the full year 2025 (6 buys vs 5 sells), they acted as net sellers in Q2 2025 (1 buy vs 2 sells), indicating a more tactical or opportunistic approach compared to the broader landlord market.

Overall landlord buying activity saw a slight decrease in volume year-over-year, with 291 buys in 2025 compared to 318 in 2024. Despite this, the consistent net buyer status confirms ongoing demand for SFR properties by landlords in the county.

Information regarding the percentage of transactions occurring between landlords (inter-landlord trades) and the average buy versus sell prices across these historical timeframes is not available in the provided data.

In Q4 2025, landlords participated in 58 transactions, accounting for 17.4% of the total 334 SFR transactions in Scioto County. This demonstrates a consistent, albeit non-dominant, presence in the quarterly housing market activity.

Transaction volume was heavily concentrated among mom-and-pop landlords (Tier 01-04), who accounted for 51 of the 58 landlord transactions. Single-property landlords (Tier 01) were the most active, conducting 33 transactions at an average price of $106,214.

A notable pricing pattern emerges between different tiers: institutional investors (Tier 09) acquired properties at an average of $91,561, which is 13.8% less than the $106,214 average paid by single-property (Tier 01) landlords. This suggests larger investors may be targeting different types of properties or achieving greater economies of scale in acquisitions.

Inter-landlord trading activity varied by tier. Institutional investors (Tier 09) sourced 50.0% of their Q4 purchases from other landlords (1 of 2 transactions), indicating a potential preference for turn-key rental properties or off-market deals. Small landlords in Tier 06-10 also showed significant inter-landlord buying, with 40.0% of their transactions (2 of 5) coming from other landlords.

The concentration of transactions among smaller landlords (51 of 58 from Tiers 01-04) aligns with the overall ownership distribution in Scioto County, where mom-and-pop investors hold the vast majority of properties, indicating that market activity mirrors the existing ownership structure.