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

Landlords in Greenwood County, SC, collectively own 2,179 SFR properties, representing a substantial 14.3% of the total SFR market. This highlights a significant investor presence within the county's housing landscape.

Individual landlords are the dominant force, owning 1,905 (87.4%) of all investor-held SFR properties, significantly outpacing the 297 (13.6%) owned by company entities. This challenges the narrative of corporate dominance, showing the market is primarily driven by individual investors.

The investor portfolio in Greenwood County is overwhelmingly rental-focused, with 2,117 (97.2%) of all landlord-owned SFR properties classified as rented. This indicates that almost all investor acquisitions are intended for rental income rather than other uses.

A striking 1,801 (82.7%) of investor-owned properties were acquired through cash transactions, while only 378 (17.4%) are financed. This strong preference for cash purchases signals a conservative investment strategy and potentially lower financial leverage among landlords in the county.

There are 2,186 distinct landlord entities in Greenwood County, SC, with individual landlords comprising 1,969 (90.1%) of these entities compared to 217 (9.9%) company landlords. This 9.07:1 ratio of individual to company entities further underscores the market's reliance on small-scale, individual investors.

In Q4 2025, landlords in Greenwood County, SC, acquired properties for an average of $163,381, a substantial $144,529 (46.9%) less than traditional homeowners who paid $307,910. This significant discount highlights landlords' ability to secure more favorable purchasing terms.

The landlord acquisition price discount has fluctuated dramatically throughout 2025; starting at a considerable 53.0% in Q1, it sharply narrowed to 3.0% in Q2, then expanded again to 46.9% by Q4. This volatility suggests varying market conditions or shifts in purchasing strategies among different buyer types over the year.

Average landlord acquisition prices have seen a notable increase, rising from $136,252 during the 2020-2023 period to $163,381 in Q4 2025. This 19.9% appreciation indicates a healthy growth in property values for investors over recent years.

While the data for specific individual versus company landlord acquisition prices within Greenwood County, SC, is not explicitly provided, the overall trend of landlords securing significant discounts suggests a strategic advantage across investor types compared to homeowners.

The current Q4 2025 landlord acquisition price of $163,381 remains below the Year 2025 average of $201,627 (despite 0 properties reported for the full year in section 6-1, indicating an artifact with actual Q4 purchases noted in section 7), suggesting Q4 offered particularly advantageous entry points for investors in the county.

Landlords in Greenwood County, SC, played a significant role in the Q4 2025 market, making 33 SFR purchases, which accounted for 16.1% of all 205 SFR properties bought in the quarter. This demonstrates a continued active presence of investors in the local housing market.

Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) were the primary drivers of investor activity in Q4 2025, acquiring 31 properties, representing 91.2% of all landlord purchases. This highlights the small-scale investor as the backbone of recent market activity.

The single-property landlord tier (Tier 01) alone accounted for 20 purchases, making up 58.8% of all landlord acquisitions in Q4. This indicates a robust entry point for new or expanding individual investors, with 26 distinct entities making these single-property purchases.

In contrast to mom-and-pop activity, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) made only 2 purchases in Q4 2025, contributing just 5.9% to total landlord acquisitions. This suggests a very limited presence or a more cautious approach from large-scale entities in the county during this period.

The distribution of Q4 landlord purchases clearly shows a bottom-heavy market, with smaller landlords, particularly those acquiring 1-5 properties, comprising the vast majority of recent investor activity in Greenwood County, SC.

Mom-and-pop landlords, encompassing Tiers 01-04 (1-10 properties), collectively control an overwhelming 93.0% of all investor-owned SFR properties in Greenwood County, SC. This translates to 2,085 properties, firmly establishing them as the primary owners of rental housing in the area.

The single-property landlord (Tier 01) forms the largest segment of the market, holding 1,408 properties, which accounts for 62.8% of the total landlord-owned SFR portfolio. This highlights the significant role of first-time or single-property investors in the county.

Despite widespread public perception, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) have a minimal presence in Greenwood County, SC, owning only 4 properties, representing just 0.2% of the total landlord-owned SFR market. This indicates that large corporations are not a dominant factor here.

The distribution reveals a strong concentration at the lower end of the portfolio scale, with portfolio sizes gradually decreasing in terms of property count as tiers increase. Beyond mom-and-pop, even mid-size landlords (Tiers 05-08) hold relatively small percentages, reinforcing the small-investor dominance.

Due to the lack of specific pricing data by tier for Greenwood County, SC, it is not possible to compare how acquisition prices vary between larger and smaller investors or how tier distribution has evolved over time in this specific report section.

In Greenwood County, SC, a notable shift occurs at the Small-medium (11-20 properties) tier (Tier 05), where companies become the majority owners, holding 55.0% of properties compared to individuals at 45.0%. This marks a crucial crossover point where corporate investment begins to outpace individual ownership as portfolio size increases.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the smaller portfolio tiers, owning 1,287 (90.4%) of single-property (Tier 01) and 283 (88.4%) of 3-5 property (Tier 03) portfolios. This reinforces their foundational role in the county's investor-owned housing market.

Even in mid-tier portfolios like 21-50 properties (Tier 06), individual investors still maintain a significant share, owning 66 (74.2%) properties, though companies hold a substantial 23 (25.8%). This indicates a persistent individual presence even as portfolios expand.

The data for the largest tiers, including institutional (1000+ properties), is incomplete in this section, precluding a comprehensive analysis of individual vs. company splits at the highest levels of ownership. However, the existing data strongly suggests companies become more prevalent in larger, but not necessarily the largest, portfolios.

With no pricing information by owner type within each tier, it's not possible to determine if individual or company investors pay different prices for properties across various portfolio sizes in Greenwood County, SC. Similarly, growth patterns by owner type cannot be assessed with the current data.

Within Greenwood County, SC, the 29646 zip code stands out as the primary hub for investor activity, boasting 978 landlord-owned properties, making it the leader by count. This represents a significant concentration of investor holdings in this specific area.

While 29646 leads in raw property count, the 29692 zip code demonstrates the highest investor ownership rate at 24.0%, despite having a relatively smaller portfolio of 151 properties. This indicates a high saturation of investor-owned housing within its total SFR market.

The top two zip codes by investor-owned property count, 29646 (978 properties) and 29649 (746 properties), collectively hold 1,724 properties, representing an overwhelming 79.1% of all investor-owned SFR in Greenwood County, SC. This reveals a clear geographic concentration of investor capital.

The zip codes with the highest ownership percentages (e.g., 29692 at 24.0% and 29666 at 18.6%) are not necessarily those with the highest absolute number of investor properties. This distinction highlights areas where investors form a larger proportion of the market versus areas with sheer volume of investor-owned units.

Information regarding acquisition prices by specific geographic region within Greenwood County, SC, is not provided, preventing an analysis of price variations across these concentrated investor markets.

Landlords in Greenwood County, SC, were decisive net buyers in Q4 2025, acquiring 40 properties while selling only 12, resulting in a net increase of 28 properties to their portfolios. This indicates continued confidence and expansion by investors in the current market.

The trend of net buying is consistent, with landlords being net buyers across all reported timeframes in 2024 and 2025. For the full year 2025, they purchased 217 properties and sold 46, achieving a robust buy/sell ratio of 4.72x, signifying aggressive accumulation.

Institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) showed a shift in activity, moving from being net sellers in 2024 (1 buy vs 2 sells) to net buyers in 2025 (3 buys vs 2 sells). This signals a potential, albeit small, change in strategy from divestment to accumulation for larger entities in the county.

Without data on the percentage of transactions between landlords or average buy versus sell prices, it's not possible to analyze inter-landlord market liquidity or implied profit margins for historical transactions in Greenwood County, SC.

The consistent net buying activity across all landlord segments, particularly the strong buy/sell ratio for overall landlords, suggests a resilient and growing investor market in Greenwood County, SC, driven by steady acquisition rather than divestment.

Landlords were actively engaged in the Q4 2025 market in Greenwood County, SC, with 40 recorded purchase transactions, representing 12.7% of the total 316 SFR transactions. This confirms their consistent presence in property acquisition within the county.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) were the most active, accounting for 26 purchases in Q4 at an average price of $189,528. This tier continues to show strong entry-level activity and represents a significant portion of the transaction volume.

A notable pricing pattern emerges between different investor tiers: institutional investors (Tier 09) acquired properties at an average price of $175,000, which is a 7.7% discount compared to the $189,528 paid by single-property (Tier 01) landlords. This suggests larger investors may be able to secure properties at lower price points.

Inter-landlord trading activity varied significantly by tier in Q4: only 3.8% of single-property landlord purchases came from other landlords, whereas a substantial 50.0% of institutional investor purchases were from fellow landlords. This indicates institutions might be more involved in the secondary market of investor-owned properties.

Mom-and-pop landlords (Tier 01-04) collectively executed 37 transactions in Q4, overshadowing institutional investors (Tier 09) who had only 2 transactions. This further underscores the dominance of smaller investors in both property ownership and current market activity in Greenwood County, SC.