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

In Fairfield County, SC, landlords own a significant 2,455 SFR properties, constituting 37.5% of the entire SFR market, highlighting a substantial investor presence in the region.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the landlord landscape, owning 2,056 properties, which accounts for 83.7% of the total investor-owned SFR portfolio. This contrasts sharply with companies, which hold 431 properties (17.6%).

The prevalence of individual ownership is further underscored by entity counts, with 2,497 individual landlords compared to 341 company landlords, a ratio exceeding 7-to-1.

A vast majority of landlord-owned properties, 2,428 properties (98.9%), are actively rented, emphasizing the rental-focused nature of investor holdings in the county.

Financial analysis of holdings reveals that 2,135 properties (87.0%) are owned outright with cash, indicating a strong preference for unencumbered assets among landlords, while 320 properties (13.0%) are financed.

In Q4 2025, landlords in Fairfield County, SC, paid an average of $210,577 for SFR properties, a marginal $782 premium or 0.4% more than traditional homeowners who paid $209,795.

The pricing dynamic between landlords and homeowners was highly inconsistent throughout 2025; landlords secured a significant $119,613 discount (35.8%) in Q3 ($214,469 vs $334,082), but paid a $26,790 premium (9.5%) in Q2 ($309,396 vs $282,606).

Quarter-over-quarter, the price gap swung dramatically from a 28.4% discount for landlords in Q1 ($223,939 vs $312,982) to a 9.5% premium in Q2, then back to a deep discount in Q3 before reverting to a slight premium in Q4.

Overall, the average landlord acquisition price for Year 2025 stood at $238,379, representing a notable 18.0% decrease compared to the average price of $290,809 during the 2020-2023 period, signaling a significant market cooling.

Landlord acquisition prices in 2025 (averaging $238,379) were also considerably lower than in 2024 (averaging $279,672), reflecting a continued downward trend in average purchase costs for investors in the region.

Landlords played a dominant role in Fairfield County's Q4 2025 housing market, accounting for 25 of the 44 total SFR purchases, a significant 56.8% market share.

Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) spearheaded this purchasing activity, making 24 acquisitions and representing an overwhelming 92.3% of all landlord purchases this quarter.

The single-property landlord tier (Tier 01) showed robust entry-level activity, with 23 distinct entities acquiring 17 properties, making it the most active individual tier by both property and entity count.

Institutional investors (Tier 09) remained completely inactive in Q4 2025, recording zero purchases and maintaining a 0.0% share of landlord acquisitions.

Beyond the single-property tier, a mix of smaller and mid-sized landlords contributed to Q4 purchases, including 5 properties by 4 two-property (Tier 02) entities, and single properties each by small landlord (Tiers 03-05 and 06-10), small-medium (Tier 11-20), and large (Tier 101-1000) entities.

The significant concentration of Q4 purchases within Tiers 01-04, specifically 24 properties by 29 entities, underscores the continued strength of smaller, local investors in the Fairfield County market.

Mom-and-pop landlords, encompassing portfolios of 1 to 10 properties (Tiers 01-04), exert near-total control over Fairfield County's investor-owned SFR market, holding a staggering 96.9% of all properties.

The foundation of this market dominance lies with single-property landlords (Tier 01), who alone account for 1,974 properties, representing 78.9% of the total investor-owned housing stock.

Further consolidating the mom-and-pop segment, two-property (Tier 02) and small landlords (Tiers 03-05) own an additional 193 properties (7.7%) and 204 properties (8.2%) respectively, reinforcing the market's grassroots structure.

In stark contrast, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) hold a marginal footprint, owning only 4 properties, which translates to a mere 0.2% of the investor-owned market in Fairfield County, SC.

Medium-sized landlords (Tiers 11-1000) collectively hold a small portion of the market, with Tiers 11-20, 21-50, 51-100, and 101-1000 together representing only 3.1% (73 properties) of total investor holdings.

The distribution clearly highlights a highly fragmented investor market, with the vast majority of properties owned by individuals or small entities rather than large corporations or funds.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the smaller tiers of landlord ownership in Fairfield County, SC, controlling 86.6% of single-property (Tier 01) portfolios (1,736 properties) and 83.9% of two-property (Tier 02) portfolios (162 properties).

The market experiences a clear crossover point within the small landlord segment: for portfolios ranging from 6-10 properties (Tier 06-10), companies become the majority owners, holding 31 properties (56.4%) compared to individuals' 24 properties (43.6%).

This trend of increasing company dominance continues into larger tiers, with small-medium landlords (11-20 properties, Tier 11-20) seeing companies own 39 properties (60.9%) compared to individuals' 25 properties (39.1%).

While individuals maintain a strong presence in the 3-5 property tier (156 properties, 76.1%), their influence significantly diminishes as portfolio size increases, indicating distinct investment strategies by owner type.

The data reveals that as investor portfolios grow beyond five properties, the operational advantages or financial structures favored by companies enable them to acquire a larger share of properties compared to individual investors.

In Fairfield County, SC, investor-owned SFR properties are highly concentrated in specific zip codes, with 29180 leading by volume with 1,374 properties, representing 35.1% of its local SFR market.

The zip code 29130 is also a significant hotspot, with 714 investor-owned properties and a notably high investor ownership rate of 48.1%.

A striking pattern emerges in Zip Code 29928, where investors own an extraordinary 90.9% of all SFR properties, marking it as the highest investor penetration rate in the county.

Geographic concentration is evident as four zip codes—29180, 29130, 29065, and 29015—appear in both the top five lists for investor-owned property count and investor ownership percentage, signaling key areas for investor activity.

While 29180 has the highest count, its 35.1% ownership rate indicates a larger overall SFR market compared to 29928, which, despite a smaller count (not listed in top 5 by count, but top by %), has nearly all its SFR properties controlled by investors.

The top five zip codes by count (29180, 29130, 29015, 29065, 29055) collectively account for a substantial portion of Fairfield County's investor-owned SFR properties, highlighting specific areas of focus for landlords.

All landlords in Fairfield County, SC, consistently operated as strong net buyers throughout 2025, culminating in a robust 17.0x buy/sell ratio in Q4 (34 buy transactions vs. 2 sell transactions).

The trend for landlord acquisition activity shows increasing momentum; the buy/sell ratio climbed from 5.67x in Q2 2025 (34 buys vs 6 sells) to 10.0x in Q3 (30 buys vs 3 sells) and peaking at 17.0x in Q4.

Over the entire Year 2025, landlords completed 125 buy transactions against 16 sell transactions, resulting in a net increase of 109 properties and a 7.81x buy/sell ratio.

Comparing year-over-year, landlord buying activity in 2025 (125 buys) was slightly lower than 2024 (160 buys), but the overall net acquisition remained high (109 in 2025 vs 117 in 2024).

In stark contrast to the overall landlord trend, institutional investors (1000+ tier) were net sellers in 2024, divesting 2 properties while only acquiring 1, showing a net negative position. No institutional transaction data is recorded for 2025, suggesting a period of inactivity or continued divestment.

The consistent net buying by the general landlord population, combined with institutional withdrawal, underscores the fragmented nature of the Fairfield County investor market, driven primarily by smaller-scale players.

Landlords were central to Fairfield County's Q4 2025 SFR market, participating in 34 of the 65 total transactions, which represents a dominant 52.3% share of all activity.

The single-property landlord tier (Tier 01) was by far the most active, completing 24 transactions at an average purchase price of $253,740, underscoring its significant role in the quarter's market dynamics.

Transaction activity decreased substantially for larger landlord tiers; Tier 02 recorded 6 transactions, while Tiers 03-05, 06-10, 11-20, and 101-1000 each recorded only 1 transaction, highlighting concentrated activity at the smallest portfolio sizes.

A notable price disparity exists across tiers, with Tier 01 purchasers paying the highest average price of $253,740, contrasting sharply with the $36,000 average price paid by the Large (101-1000) tier, a difference of $217,740.

Inter-landlord trading activity was minimal in Q4 2025; only 1 transaction by Tier 01 (4.2% of its purchases) and 1 transaction by Tier 02 (16.7% of its purchases) involved buying from another landlord, indicating most acquisitions came from non-investor sellers.

The Tier 02 landlords showed the highest proportion of inter-landlord purchases at 16.7%, suggesting a slightly more active internal market for properties among smaller, multi-property landlords.