McCook (SD) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Landlords in McCook County collectively own 519 Single Family Residential (SFR) properties, representing a substantial 32.7% of the total SFR market of 1,589 properties, indicating a significant investor presence in the local housing landscape.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the market, owning 477 SFR properties, which accounts for 91.9% of all investor-held SFR, starkly contrasting with company ownership at just 50 properties (9.6%). This pattern also extends to entities, with 636 individual landlords versus 54 company landlords.

The investor portfolio is highly rental-focused, with 515 properties currently rented, underscoring the market's primary function as rental housing. This is further supported by all 519 investor-owned properties being non-owner-occupied.

A notable 491 properties (94.6% of holdings) were acquired through cash, while only 28 properties are financed, revealing a strong preference for unencumbered asset ownership among landlords in McCook County.

The large proportion of cash purchases suggests a financially robust landlord base less reliant on traditional lending, potentially offering greater flexibility in market conditions. This high cash ownership also suggests a lower exposure to interest rate fluctuations compared to other markets.

Due to a complete absence of SFR purchases in McCook County during Q4 2025 (0 total purchases), it is impossible to compare landlord acquisition prices against those of traditional homeowners for this period.

The lack of any recorded transactions extends to all historical timeframes provided, including Q3, Q2, Q1, and annual summaries for 2024 and 2020-2023. This data gap precludes any analysis of acquisition price trends over time.

Without any transaction data, it is not possible to determine if landlords typically secure discounts, pay premiums, or how their pricing strategies might differ from traditional homeowners in McCook County.

The pervasive lack of pricing information also means that no price appreciation or decline from previous periods can be assessed, leaving a significant void in understanding market value dynamics for investor-owned properties.

This critical data gap highlights a complete pause in verifiable market activity for acquisition pricing, rendering any insights into landlord or homeowner pricing behavior for McCook County currently unattainable.

In Q4 2025, McCook County experienced a complete halt in SFR purchasing activity, with 0 total purchases recorded by landlords or other buyers, signaling a significant pause in the local real estate market.

Consequently, landlords made 0 purchases, accounting for 0.0% of the total market, which means there was no new investor entry or expansion during this quarter.

The inactivity extended across all investor tiers; mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) made 0 purchases, representing 0.0% of landlord activity, and institutional investors (Tier 09) also recorded 0 purchases.

This absence of activity also means no new single-property landlords (Tier 01) entered the market in Q4, indicating a freezing of new investor participation.

Without any purchases, it is impossible to determine which tiers, if any, are most active or have the highest concentration of Q4 activity, as all buying ceased across the board.

The investor market in McCook County is entirely dominated by mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04), who collectively control 100.0% of the investor-owned SFR properties, totaling 448 properties in Tier 01, 50 in Tier 02, 29 in Tier 03-05, and 2 in Tier 06-10.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) are the foundational segment, owning 448 SFR properties and accounting for a massive 84.7% of all investor-owned housing, underscoring the highly fragmented and individual-driven nature of the market.

The complete absence of institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) with 0.0% ownership highlights McCook County as a market where large corporate landlords are not a factor, defying national trends observed in larger metropolitan areas.

Mid-size landlords (Tier 05-08) also have no presence in McCook County, further reinforcing the market's structure around very small, local investors.

With no pricing data available by tier for any timeframe, it is impossible to analyze how acquisition prices vary across portfolio sizes or if larger (but still mom-and-pop) investors pay more or less than single-property landlords.

The stability of this ownership distribution, while notable, cannot be fully assessed for evolution over time due to the absence of historical tier distribution data for comparison.

Individual investors maintain a dominant position across all investor tiers in McCook County, clearly illustrated by their ownership of 90.5% (412 properties) in the single-property (Tier 01) segment compared to companies at 9.5% (43 properties).

There is no crossover point where companies become majority owners, even in the slightly larger mom-and-pop tiers. For instance, in the 2-property tier, individuals still hold 86.0% (43 properties) versus 14.0% for companies (7 properties).

The pattern of individual dominance continues through the larger mom-and-pop tiers; individuals own 93.1% (27 properties) in the 3-5 property tier and 100.0% (2 properties) in the 6-10 property tier, with minimal to no company presence.

This consistent individual ownership across all available tiers underscores the highly localized and non-corporate nature of the real estate investment landscape in McCook County.

Without pricing data specific to owner type within each tier, it's not possible to determine if individual or company landlords employ different pricing strategies or secure different acquisition costs for similar properties.

The absence of growth pattern data (all-time vs. Q4) by owner type by tier prevents analysis of whether individual or company investors have been more active in recent periods, especially given the zero Q4 activity.

Within McCook County, zip code 57058 exhibits the highest concentration of investor-owned properties by count, totaling 194 SFR units, representing a substantial 34.4% of its total SFR market.

Concurrently, zip code 57319 stands out with the highest investor ownership rate at 36.9%, indicating a significant penetration of the housing market by landlords in that specific area, despite its property count not being provided in the top-by-count list.

SD-McCook-57012 also shows a strong investor presence, with 130 landlord-owned properties and an ownership rate of 33.3%, making it another key area for investor activity within the county.

The comparison between count and percentage leaders reveals that while 57058 has the most investor properties, 57319 has the highest rate, suggesting that high rates can occur in areas with fewer overall properties if investor activity is concentrated.

The absence of data for several other zip codes (57035, 57042, 57043) limits a full comparative analysis of investor activity and ownership rates across all sub-geographies within McCook County.

Due to the lack of acquisition pricing data for these specific sub-geographies, it is not possible to analyze how prices vary across these regions or if high investor concentration correlates with distinct pricing dynamics.

A critical data gap exists as no historical transaction data is available for all landlords in McCook County, making it impossible to ascertain if they have been net buyers or net sellers over time.

The absence of transaction records also precludes any analysis of inter-landlord trading activity, meaning the percentage of buy transactions originating from other landlords or sell transactions moving to other landlords cannot be determined.

Without historical transaction volumes, it is impossible to evaluate how market liquidity has changed across different timeframes (e.g., Q4 vs. Q3, annual trends, or all-time activity).

Furthermore, the lack of data for institutional investors (1000+ tier) means their historical buy/sell positions and transaction patterns, which often differ significantly from overall landlord trends, remain unknown for McCook County.

The inability to compare average buy prices to average sell prices means no implied profit margins or changes in investment value can be calculated from transaction data.

This comprehensive data void severely limits the understanding of past investor behavior, market dynamics, and the overall health of the SFR investment market in McCook County.

McCook County experienced a complete cessation of SFR transactions involving landlords in Q4 2025, with 0 recorded transactions, indicating a frozen market for investor activity.

This lack of activity meant landlords held a 0.0% share of total Q4 transactions, reflecting a complete absence of buying or selling by this segment of the market.

Consequently, no transaction volumes were recorded across any investor tiers, whether mom-and-pop (Tier 01-04) or institutional (Tier 09), demonstrating an across-the-board halt in market participation.

With 0 transactions, it is impossible to determine average purchase prices by tier, meaning no insights can be drawn regarding which investor sizes, if any, were paying the most or least in Q4.

Furthermore, there was no inter-landlord trading activity, as 0 properties were bought from other landlords, which means the market exhibited no internal liquidity among existing investors.

The complete absence of Q4 transaction data for McCook County signifies a profound pause in the investor market, precluding any analysis of recent activity, pricing strategies, or market dynamics by investor tier.