Dillon (SC) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the landlord landscape in Dillon County, holding 3,139 (93.3%) of the 3,363 investor-owned SFR properties, significantly dwarfing the 235 (7.0%) owned by companies.

The ownership structure is heavily skewed towards individuals, with 3,426 individual landlords operating compared to just 214 company landlords, reinforcing the 'mom-and-pop' foundation of the local rental market.

An impressive 3,289 (97.8%) of all investor-owned properties were acquired with cash, signaling a market where investors favor direct, unfinanced purchases over leveraged acquisitions.

Almost all landlord-owned properties, 3,326, are designated as rented, confirming a near-exclusive focus on generating rental income from these SFR assets rather than personal occupation.

The minimal number of financed properties (74) across the entire landlord portfolio suggests either a conservative investment approach or challenges in obtaining financing within this market.

This data reveals that Dillon County's investor market is primarily driven by local, cash-rich individual landlords, contrasting sharply with narratives of large corporate dominance in other markets.

In a surprising reversal, landlords in Dillon County paid an average of $264,833 per property in Q4 2025, a substantial $44,306 (20.1%) more than traditional homeowners who acquired properties for $220,527.

This Q4 premium starkly contrasts with earlier quarters in 2025, where landlords benefited from significant discounts: a 58.2% discount in Q3 ($75,017 vs $179,624), a massive 70.0% in Q2 ($59,654 vs $198,792), and a 38.8% discount in Q1 ($117,294 vs $191,561).

Despite the Q4 premium, overall landlord acquisition prices have appreciated notably, with the average price in 2025 reaching $120,956, up from $92,145 in 2024 and $88,069 during the 2020-2023 pandemic boom era.

The extreme volatility in the landlord-homeowner price gap quarter-over-quarter suggests highly specific market conditions or potentially low transaction volumes influencing the averages for landlords in recent periods.

It's crucial to note that reported landlord distinct SFR properties purchased are 0 for all recent timeframes (2024-Q4 through 2025-Q4), which implies the average prices provided for landlords may be based on non-acquisition transactions or a very limited number of sales not captured in the distinct property count.

This volatile pricing behavior indicates a highly unpredictable market for landlord acquisitions, where securing a deal can swing from a significant discount to a premium within a single quarter.

Landlords captured a significant 31.9% share of the Dillon County SFR market in Q4 2025, acquiring 22 properties out of a total of 69 SFR purchases.

Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) were the primary drivers of investor activity, accounting for 23 of the 25 distinct properties acquired by landlords in Q4, representing a dominant 92.0% of all landlord purchases.

The Tier 01 segment, representing new single-property landlords, was particularly active, with 14 entities acquiring 11 distinct properties in Q4, indicating a healthy influx of first-time investors into the market.

In stark contrast to smaller investors, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) showed no purchasing activity in Dillon County during Q4 2025, maintaining their minimal presence in the local market.

Medium-large landlords (Tier 51-100) also showed some Q4 activity, acquiring 2 properties and contributing to the diversity of smaller-scale investor engagement beyond the mom-and-pop tiers.

The concentration of Q4 purchases among smaller, individual-led investor tiers reinforces the localized and accessible nature of the Dillon County SFR investment market, favoring modest portfolio growth over institutional expansion.

Mom-and-pop landlords, defined as owning 1-10 properties (Tiers 01-04), exert near-total dominance over the investor-owned SFR market in Dillon County, controlling an overwhelming 97.0% of all properties held by landlords.

The backbone of this market is the single-property landlord (Tier 01), who collectively own 2,751 distinct SFR properties, representing a substantial 79.6% of the entire landlord-owned portfolio.

In stark contrast to the mom-and-pop segment, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) hold a negligible share, owning only 3 properties which amounts to a mere 0.1% of the total investor-owned SFR in the county.

The distribution reveals a sharp drop-off in ownership share as portfolio size increases; for instance, Tier 02 (two properties) accounts for 8.0% (278 properties), while Tier 101-1000 holds only 1 property (0.0%).

Unfortunately, the available data does not provide acquisition price variations by tier for Dillon County, making it challenging to assess whether larger investors historically paid more or less per property than smaller landlords.

This extreme concentration in smaller portfolios strongly indicates a local market where individual wealth and small-scale investment are the primary drivers, rather than large-scale corporate accumulation.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate company ownership across all portfolio tiers in Dillon County, maintaining a majority in every tier analyzed, from single-property holdings to medium-large portfolios.

For instance, in the Single-property (Tier 01) segment, individuals own 2,585 properties (93.7%) compared to companies with 174 properties (6.3%), a pattern of individual prevalence that extends upwards.

The crossover point where companies become the majority owners is not observed in the provided data; individuals consistently hold a dominant share, even in tiers as large as 51-100 properties (96.7% individual vs 3.3% company).

Even in mid-range portfolios like the Small landlord (6-10 properties) tier, individuals own 65 properties (89.0%), while companies hold only 8 (11.0%), signaling limited corporate penetration at these scales.

The data suggests that the growth and structure of landlord portfolios in Dillon County are almost entirely driven by individual investors, with company involvement remaining marginal across the board.

Unfortunately, specific acquisition price differences between individual and company landlords within each tier are not available in the provided data for Dillon County, limiting insights into their respective buying strategies.

Investor-owned properties in Dillon County are heavily concentrated in specific zip codes, with SC-Dillon-29536 leading by count with 1,744 properties, representing a substantial 36.6% investor ownership rate.

Beyond raw counts, SC-Dillon-29525 shows the highest investor ownership rate at an extraordinary 100.0%, suggesting a niche market or a very small total housing stock entirely owned by investors.

Zip codes like SC-Dillon-29563 and SC-Dillon-29547 stand out for both their high investor property counts (375 and 308 respectively) and significant ownership rates (47.1% and 40.1%), indicating deeply penetrated investor markets.

The overlap between top regions by count and top regions by percentage (29563, 29547, 29536) signals areas where investor activity is not only high in volume but also makes up a large proportion of the total SFR housing stock.

Conversely, the overall county investor ownership rate is 37.8%, highlighting that while there are pockets of very high investor density, other areas likely have much lower rates balancing the county average.

No data is available on how acquisition prices vary across these specific geographic regions within Dillon County, limiting a full understanding of market value differences for investors.

Landlords in Dillon County are consistently net buyers, demonstrating robust accumulation activity with a strong buy-to-sell ratio of 5.56x in 2025 (100 buys vs 18 sells), indicating ongoing market confidence and expansion.

This net buying trend has been consistent, with landlords being net buyers in Q4 (30 buys vs 3 sells), Q3 (23 buys vs 5 sells), and Q2 (30 buys vs 8 sells) of 2025.

In stark contrast, institutional investors (1000+ properties) exhibit very low transaction volumes and a balanced position, with 4 buys and 4 sells in 2025, resulting in a net neutral stance.

The lack of significant accumulation or divestment by institutional investors highlights their minimal and stable, rather than expansive, presence in the Dillon County market.

Unfortunately, specific data on the percentage of buy or sell transactions that occur between landlords (inter-landlord activity) is not available, nor are average buy vs. sell prices for historical periods.

The strong overall net buyer position for landlords, primarily driven by smaller investors, suggests a resilient demand for rental properties within Dillon County's SFR market.

Landlords represented a substantial share of Q4 2025 transaction activity in Dillon County, participating in 30 out of 93 total SFR transactions, which translates to a 32.3% market share.

Transaction volumes were predominantly driven by mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04), who accounted for 28 of the 30 landlord transactions, with Tier 01 (single-property) leading with 14 transactions.

A striking pattern emerges in average purchase prices by tier: Single-property landlords (Tier 01) paid the highest average price at $365,444, indicating a willingness to invest more for their initial or sole property.

Conversely, larger tiers like Medium-large (51-100 properties) recorded a much lower average purchase price of $25,000 across their 2 transactions, potentially signaling distressed asset acquisitions or unique property types.

Inter-landlord trading activity was notably low in Q4, with only 1 transaction (for a Tier 02 landlord) recorded as having been bought from another landlord, suggesting most acquisitions are from traditional sellers.

The absence of institutional investor (Tier 09) transactions in Q4 further underscores their minimal engagement and the market's reliance on smaller, individual-driven investment activity.

This quarter's transaction data highlights that smaller landlords are not only more active but also willing to pay higher prices, while inter-landlord market fluidity remains limited.