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

Landlords in Johnston County, OK, collectively own 583 Single Family Residential properties, making up a significant 25.9% of the total 2,250 SFR properties in the market. This substantial penetration highlights the strong presence of rental housing providers in the county.

Individual landlords overwhelmingly dominate the investor landscape, holding 504 properties, which accounts for 86.4% of all investor-owned SFR. In contrast, company-owned properties number only 83, representing a much smaller 14.2% share, challenging narratives of corporate landlord dominance in this market.

The portfolio is heavily skewed towards rental operations, with 567 properties (97.3% of investor-owned SFR) identified as rented. This indicates that nearly all investor-held properties serve as long-term rental units, supporting housing needs in the community.

A striking 81.3% (474 properties) of investor-owned SFR are cash purchases, while only 18.7% (109 properties) are financed. This high proportion of cash acquisitions suggests a preference for debt-free ownership or possibly reflects a market where traditional financing for investment properties is less common or desired.

By entity count, individual landlords number 630, far outnumbering the 65 company landlords. This 9.7:1 ratio of individual to company entities further underscores the mom-and-pop foundation of the investor market in Johnston County, despite the overall landlord count being higher than the property count, implying multiple landlords for single properties or smaller fractional ownerships.

In Q4 2025, landlords in Johnston County demonstrated superior deal-finding capabilities, acquiring properties for an average of $101,655. This represents a substantial $117,145, or 53.5%, discount compared to traditional homeowners, who paid an average of $218,800 during the same period.

The price gap between landlords and homeowners has exhibited extreme volatility throughout 2025. Landlords secured their largest discount of $126,423 (66.7%) in Q3, purchasing properties at an average of $63,000 compared to homeowners at $189,423. Conversely, Q2 saw landlords paying a premium of $44,164 (28.1%), averaging $201,500 against homeowners' $157,336.

Analyzing year-over-year trends, the average landlord acquisition price for 2025 was $136,092, a notable increase from $111,885 in 2024. This 21.6% price appreciation for landlords suggests a rising market value for investor-purchased properties, despite the dramatic quarterly fluctuations.

The pandemic-era (2020-2023) average acquisition price for landlords was $91,826. Comparing this to the 2025 average of $136,092, there's been a significant 48.2% price appreciation since the post-pandemic boom, underscoring the long-term value growth in the county's SFR market.

Specific data on whether individual or company landlords pay different prices is not available for Johnston County. However, the overall landlord pricing trends suggest that the prevailing mom-and-pop market benefits from substantial discounts when acquiring properties, particularly in recent quarters.

Landlords demonstrated significant activity in the Q4 2025 market, securing 7 of the 19 total SFR properties purchased in Johnston County. This means landlords accounted for 36.8% of all purchases, indicating a robust appetite from investors.

The Q4 purchasing activity was exclusively driven by mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04), who made all 7 landlord acquisitions. This highlights the foundational role of smaller investors in the local market, with no institutional (Tier 09) purchases recorded.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) were the most active segment, acquiring 6 properties, representing a substantial 85.7% of all landlord purchases in Q4. This strong entry-level activity suggests a healthy influx of new or expanding small-scale investors into the market.

The remaining landlord purchase in Q4 came from two-property landlords (Tier 02), acquiring 1 property, which comprised 14.3% of landlord buys. This reinforces the pattern of small-scale investors driving the current quarter's acquisition trends.

Given that 6 entities were active in Tier 01 for Q4 and 1 in Tier 02, this points to 7 distinct entities making purchases. This substantial number of new or expanding small investors further solidifies the mom-and-pop character of the investor market in Johnston County.

The investor-owned housing market in Johnston County is overwhelmingly dominated by mom-and-pop landlords, defined as those owning 1-10 properties (Tiers 01-04). These smaller investors collectively control 99.2% of all investor-owned SFR properties, totaling 606 properties, showcasing their foundational role in the local rental landscape.

Within the mom-and-pop segment, single-property landlords (Tier 01) represent the largest group, owning 445 properties, which alone accounts for a significant 72.8% of the entire investor-owned portfolio. This highlights the prevalence of first-time or small-scale investors as the primary providers of rental housing.

In stark contrast to broader market trends and media narratives, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) hold no market share in Johnston County, accounting for 0.0% of investor-owned properties. This complete absence reinforces the market's reliance on local, smaller-scale investors.

The distribution of entities across tiers further illustrates this dynamic: while Tier 01 has the most entities, it's clear that the local market structure is entirely composed of smaller players, with the largest tier (101-1000 properties) holding only 1 property (0.2%).

Due to the limited acquisition data across tiers for various timeframes, detailed insights into how acquisition prices vary by tier or how distribution has evolved over time are not consistently available, but the current distribution firmly establishes mom-and-pop landlords as the market's dominant force.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate company ownership across all portfolio sizes in Johnston County. In the crucial single-property tier (Tier 01), individuals own 410 properties (91.5%), significantly overshadowing companies who own only 38 properties (8.5%).

Even as portfolio sizes increase, individual investors consistently retain the majority. In the two-property tier (Tier 02), individuals hold 85.7% (30 properties) compared to companies at 14.3% (5 properties), showcasing the enduring presence of mom-and-pop owners.

The highest concentration of company ownership is found in the 6-10 property tier (Tier 04), where companies account for 31.4% (11 properties) of holdings. However, individual investors still maintain a clear majority at 68.6% (24 properties) in this tier, indicating no crossover point where corporate entities become dominant.

For the 3-5 property tier (Tier 03), individuals possess 72.5% (66 properties) while companies hold 27.5% (25 properties). This consistent pattern across all tiers underscores that Johnston County's investor market is fundamentally driven by individual, rather than corporate, capital and management.

Without specific pricing data by owner type and tier, it's difficult to compare acquisition strategies. However, the pervasive individual ownership across all tiers suggests a grassroots, localized approach to real estate investment in the county, rather than large-scale institutional or corporate plays.

Within Johnston County, specific zip codes show varying levels of investor activity and ownership. OK-Johnston-73460 stands out as the primary hub, recording 354 investor-owned properties, representing a significant 27.8% investor ownership rate within that sub-geography.

Other areas also contribute to the investor market, with OK-Johnston-73450 having 39 investor-owned properties (18.0% ownership rate) and OK-Johnston-73461 following closely with 29 properties (27.1% ownership rate). These top three zip codes demonstrate where investor capital is most concentrated by property count.

When examining investor ownership rates, a different picture emerges for some regions. OK-Johnston-74836 shows an exceptionally high 66.7% investor ownership rate, indicating that a substantial majority of SFR properties in this specific zip code are landlord-owned, although the total property count for this area is not provided.

Similarly, OK-Johnston-74530 and OK-Johnston-73455 also exhibit high investor ownership rates at 50.0% and 41.0% respectively. This contrast between high property count regions and high percentage rate regions suggests that investors are active both in absolute volume and in deeply penetrating smaller, perhaps more rural, sub-markets.

Acquisition price data across these specific geographic regions is not consistently available, limiting the ability to draw conclusions on price variations. However, the identified concentration patterns by both count and percentage reveal the nuanced geographic investment strategies employed within Johnston County.

Landlords in Johnston County consistently maintained a net buyer position throughout 2025, indicating an active accumulation strategy. In Q4 2025 alone, they purchased 7 properties while selling only 1, resulting in a net gain of 6 properties and a strong buy/sell ratio of 7.0x.

This buying trend is consistent with the broader 2025 activity, where landlords acquired a total of 33 properties and sold only 6, making them net buyers by 27 properties. This impressive 5.5x buy/sell ratio for the year underscores a clear pattern of growth in investor portfolios.

Looking back to 2024, landlords also displayed robust buying, with 27 acquisitions against 4 sales, yielding a net positive of 23 properties. The sustained net buying across multiple timeframes highlights a stable and growing landlord presence in the county.

The average buy price for landlords in 2025 was $136,092, while the average sell price was $111,885. This suggests an implied margin or appreciation, as landlords are selling properties for less than their average buy price, which could indicate selling older, lower-value assets while acquiring newer, higher-value ones, or a timing difference in average prices.

Notably, there is no transaction data available for institutional investors (1000+ tier). This indicates a complete lack of activity from large-scale corporate landlords in Johnston County's transaction market, further reinforcing the mom-and-pop dominance observed in ownership data.

Landlords were significant players in the Q4 2025 transaction market in Johnston County, participating in 7 out of 31 total SFR transactions. This means landlords accounted for a substantial 22.6% of all transactions, highlighting their active role in market fluidity.

The entirety of landlord transaction activity in Q4 came from mom-and-pop tiers (01-04), with no institutional (Tier 09) involvement. This reinforces the localized, smaller-scale nature of investment in the county's housing market.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) were the most active segment, completing 6 transactions at an average purchase price of $107,632. This indicates that new or very small landlords are driving the majority of current acquisition activity, often at a slightly higher price point per unit than larger mom-and-pop tiers.

Two-property landlords (Tier 02) completed 1 transaction in Q4, with an average purchase price of $65,792. This lower average price compared to Tier 01 suggests potential variation in property types or locations acquired by slightly larger mom-and-pop investors.

Notably, neither Tier 01 nor Tier 02 landlords purchased any properties from other landlords in Q4 (0.0% bought from landlords). This suggests that landlords are primarily acquiring properties directly from traditional homeowners or other non-investor sellers, rather than engaging in significant inter-landlord trading activity.

The price spread between the highest and lowest purchasing tiers observed in Q4 was $41,840 (Tier 01 at $107,632 vs Tier 02 at $65,792). This difference can reflect variations in property condition, size, or specific market micro-segments targeted by different small landlord types.