Carter (OK) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Landlords in Carter County, OK, collectively own 4,153 Single Family Residential (SFR) properties, accounting for a significant 27.0% of the total SFR market of 15,395 properties. This indicates a substantial investor presence within the local housing landscape.

Individual landlords overwhelmingly dominate the investor-owned SFR market in Carter County, holding 3,206 properties, which represents 77.2% of the total landlord portfolio. Companies, by contrast, own 996 properties, or 24.0%, reinforcing the "mom-and-pop" structure of the local rental market.

The prevalence of individual investors is further underscored by entity counts, with 3,745 individual landlords making up 88.1% of all 4,250 landlords in the county, compared to just 505 company landlords (11.9%). This highlights the fragmented nature of the landlord base.

A striking 96.5% of all investor-owned properties (4,007 out of 4,153) are rented, demonstrating that the vast majority of landlord holdings are actively generating rental income rather than being held vacant or for other purposes. This confirms a strong rental-centric strategy among investors.

Cash acquisitions are the predominant method for landlords, with 3,243 properties (78.1% of investor-owned) purchased outright. This significantly outweighs properties acquired through financing, which stand at 910 (21.9%), suggesting a preference for debt-free ownership or strong capital reserves among local investors.

In Q4 2025, landlords in Carter County paid significantly less for SFR properties, averaging $118,430. This represents a substantial $146,326 discount, or 55.3% less than the average $264,756 paid by traditional homeowners.

The price advantage for landlords has shown considerable quarter-over-quarter volatility. The discount narrowed from 60.9% ($149,428) in Q1 to its smallest at 35.4% ($83,399) in Q2, before widening again to 39.7% ($99,511) in Q3, and ultimately reaching a pronounced 55.3% in Q4.

The Q4 2025 data shows a notable widening of the landlord discount compared to Q2 and Q3, indicating that landlords were able to secure more favorable prices relative to homeowners towards the end of the year. This shift suggests potentially differing market access or negotiation strategies.

Despite the fluctuations, landlords consistently acquired properties at a lower price point than traditional homeowners across all quarters of 2025. This enduring pattern underscores a structural advantage, whether through distressed sales, off-market deals, or different property characteristics.

The lowest average price paid by landlords in 2025 was $95,913 in Q1, while their highest was $151,969 in Q2. This range suggests a certain price floor for investor acquisitions, even as market prices for homeowners showed less extreme variations.

Landlords were active participants in the Carter County SFR market during Q4 2025, purchasing 28 properties which represents 18.3% of the total 153 SFR purchases made across the county. This indicates a consistent investor presence, absorbing nearly one-fifth of available properties.

Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) significantly drove Q4 acquisition activity, accounting for 27 properties or 93.1% of all landlord purchases. This highlights their crucial role as the primary buying force within the investor segment.

In stark contrast to mom-and-pop activity, institutional investors (Tier 09) made only 1 purchase in Q4, representing a mere 3.4% of landlord acquisitions. This low volume suggests a minimal or declining institutional footprint in the local market.

The single-property landlord tier (Tier 01) was the most active, with 18 entities making purchases in Q4. This indicates a healthy influx of new, small-scale investors entering the Carter County rental market.

The highest concentration of Q4 landlord purchase activity was observed in the single-property (Tier 01) category, accounting for 41.4% of properties, followed by small landlords (3-5 properties) at 20.7%, and two-property landlords (Tier 02) at 17.2%. This further solidifies the market's reliance on smaller investors for liquidity.

While the single-property tier saw 18 entities purchasing 12 properties, the next most active tiers, Tier 02 and Tier 03-05, each had 6 entities acquiring 5 and 6 properties respectively. This shows varied acquisition patterns, with some entities acquiring more than one property, demonstrating active portfolio building within the smaller tiers.

Mom-and-pop landlords, encompassing those owning 1 to 10 properties (Tiers 01-04), collectively control an overwhelming 92.0% of all investor-owned SFR properties in Carter County. This highlights their foundational role in the local rental market.

The single-property landlord (Tier 01) forms the largest individual segment, owning 2,601 properties, which accounts for 58.5% of the total investor-owned housing. This signifies that first-time or small-scale investors are the primary custodians of rental housing stock.

In stark contrast to the small landlord dominance, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) hold a negligible 6 properties, representing just 0.1% of the total investor-owned portfolio. This refutes any notion of significant "Wall Street" takeover in this local market.

Analysis of Q4 acquisition prices reveals a clear pattern: larger investor tiers secure properties at significantly lower average prices. Institutional investors (1000+ properties) paid the lowest average price at $50,778, a striking 66.5% less than the $151,500 paid by single-property landlords (Tier 01).

The average purchase price generally decreases as portfolio size increases: from $151,500 for Tier 01 down to $64,911 for Tier 03-05, and further to $55,000 for Tier 21-50. This pattern suggests bulk buying advantages or access to different property types for larger investors.

Mid-size landlords, those owning 11-1000 properties (Tiers 05-08), collectively own 350 properties, representing 7.9% of the investor-owned market. This segment acts as a bridge between the vast mom-and-pop base and the very small institutional presence.

The ownership structure in Carter County distinctly shifts from individual to company dominance around mid-size portfolios. Individuals hold a majority up to the 11-20 property tier (53.4%), but companies become the overwhelming majority at the 21-50 property tier, controlling 98.9% of those properties.

Individual investors are the primary owners in smaller portfolio tiers, exemplified by their 88.5% share in single-property (Tier 01) holdings and 76.7% in the 3-5 property tier. This underscores the grassroots nature of most rental operations.

Company ownership exhibits a clear upward trend as portfolio size increases, from a mere 11.5% in Tier 01 to 42.2% in the 6-10 property tier and 46.6% in the 11-20 property tier, indicating a gradual consolidation or shift towards corporate structures with growth.

The nearly complete corporate control (98.9%) of properties within the 21-50 portfolio tier demonstrates that once landlords reach a certain scale, they predominantly operate as companies. This suggests strategic benefits of corporate structuring for larger-scale operations.

Even in the 6-10 property tier, individual investors still maintain a majority with 57.8% of properties, showing that even moderately sized portfolios often remain under individual ownership rather than corporate entities. This challenges the assumption of a sharp corporate transition.

Investor-owned SFR properties in Carter County are highly concentrated within specific zip codes, with OK-Carter-73401 leading significantly by count. This single zip code accounts for 3,281 investor-owned properties, dwarfing other areas.

While 73401 has the highest count, other zip codes demonstrate a much higher rate of investor ownership. OK-Carter-73435 and OK-Carter-73487 show striking investor penetration, with 55.6% and 52.6% of their SFR properties being investor-owned respectively, indicating deeply entrenched investor markets.

The top zip code by investor-owned property count, OK-Carter-73401, has an ownership rate of 27.2%, which is considerably lower than the rate leaders like 73435 (55.6%). This highlights a distinction between areas with high volumes of investor properties and areas where investors constitute a larger proportion of the market.

The data suggests that smaller, less populous zip codes (like 73435, 73487, 73488, 73444) can have very high investor ownership rates despite not appearing in the top counts. This pattern suggests that investors may be targeting specific, potentially less competitive, sub-markets within the county.

The top five zip codes by investor-owned property count are OK-Carter-73401 (3,281 properties), OK-Carter-73438 (319 properties), OK-Carter-73463 (207 properties), and OK-Carter-73443 (157 properties), collectively showcasing where the bulk of investor-owned housing stock is located in the county.

Landlords in Carter County have maintained a strong net buyer position across all recorded periods in 2024 and 2025. In Q4 2025, they bought 38 properties while selling only 10, resulting in a net acquisition of 28 properties.

The buy/sell ratios consistently show landlords accumulating properties. Q4 2025 exhibited the highest quarterly ratio at 3.8x (38 buys vs 10 sells), followed by Q2 with 3.53x (53 buys vs 15 sells), indicating a robust appetite for acquisitions throughout the year.

The latest quarter, Q4 2025, reflects an acceleration in landlord accumulation activity, with the buy/sell ratio increasing compared to Q3 (2.68x). This suggests landlords are capitalizing on market opportunities towards the end of the year.

Annually, landlords were net buyers of 161 properties in 2025 (228 buys vs 67 sells) and 195 properties in 2024 (268 buys vs 73 sells). While 2025 saw slightly fewer overall transactions than 2024, the net buying trend remains firmly established.

No transaction data is available for institutional investors (1000+ tier) in this geography, preventing a comparative analysis of their buying and selling patterns against the overall landlord market.

In Q4 2025, landlords were involved in 38 transactions, representing a notable 16.7% of the total 228 SFR transactions in Carter County. This confirms their active role in shaping market liquidity.

Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) executed 36 out of the 38 landlord transactions, comprising 94.7% of all landlord-involved trades. This shows their transaction activity is highly proportionate to their overall ownership share, reinforcing their market influence.

Institutional investors (Tier 1000+) completed just 1 transaction in Q4, acquiring a property for $50,778. This price is a remarkable 66.5% less than the $151,500 paid by single-property landlords (Tier 01), indicating institutional focus on significantly discounted assets.

A clear inverse relationship exists between investor tier size and average purchase price in Q4. Single-property landlords (Tier 01) paid the highest average of $151,500, while larger tiers like Tier 21-50 paid $55,000, and institutional investors (Tier 1000+) paid the lowest at $50,778.

While overall landlord transactions are robust, inter-landlord trading is relatively low, with only a few instances where properties were bought from other landlords. The highest percentage was seen in Tier 21-50 at 100% (1 transaction), followed by Tier 03-05 at 14.3% and Tier 01 at 11.1%.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) were the most active tier in Q4, participating in 18 transactions. This highlights their continuous entry into or expansion within the market, serving as a dynamic force for market churn.

The substantial price difference of $100,722 between the highest-paying single-property landlords ($151,500) and the lowest-paying institutional investors ($50,778) underscores diverse acquisition strategies and property types targeted across investor tiers.