Perry (TN) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Landlords own a substantial 918 SFR properties in Perry County, representing 40.1% of the total 2,290 SFR properties in the market. This indicates a significant investor presence compared to the overall market.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the landlord-owned SFR market, holding 860 properties (93.7%) compared to companies with just 67 properties (7.3%). This defies a common narrative of corporate dominance in the rental market.

The vast majority of landlord-owned SFR properties, 912 out of 918 (99.3%), are actively rented, confirming a strong focus on rental income within investor portfolios.

Cash acquisitions are the prevailing method for investors in Perry County, accounting for 757 properties (82.5%) of the landlord-owned portfolio, significantly outweighing financed properties at 161 (17.5%). This signals a strong preference for unencumbered assets.

The landlord market is heavily fragmented, with 1,169 individual landlords making up 95.7% of all 1,222 investor entities, while only 53 companies (4.3%) operate in the county. This high number of individual entities relative to properties suggests a prevalence of small-scale investors.

The very high percentage of rented properties (99.3%) among landlord holdings clearly indicates that investors in Perry County are almost exclusively focused on acquiring non-owner-occupied properties for rental purposes, aligning with the "Landlord/Investor" definition.

Landlords in Perry County consistently acquire SFR properties at a significant discount compared to traditional homeowners, notably in Q4 2025, where they paid an average of $157,991, a substantial $119,209 (43.0%) less than the average homeowner price of $277,200. This indicates a strategic advantage in sourcing lower-priced properties.

The landlord discount has fluctuated significantly over the past year, moving from a 41.3% discount in Q1 to an unusual 19.8% premium in Q2, before returning to deep discounts of 59.7% in Q3 and 43.0% in Q4. This volatility suggests diverse market conditions or opportunistic buying patterns.

Comparing annual averages, landlord acquisition prices have shown a steady increase, rising from $137,454 during the 2020-2023 period to $160,547 in 2024, and further to $168,313 in 2025. This trend points to a consistent appreciation in investor-acquired property values over time.

The large price disparity in Q3 2025 saw landlords pay just $104,218 compared to homeowners at $258,757, representing a massive $154,539 (59.7%) discount. This quarter stands out as a period of exceptional value for landlord acquisitions, highlighting potential distressed sales or off-market deals.

The unusual Q2 2025 trend, where landlords paid a $37,906 (19.8%) premium over homeowners ($229,238 vs $191,332), suggests that landlords might have been targeting specific, higher-value properties during that period, deviating from their usual discount strategy.

The overall trend from Q1 to Q4 2025 (excluding the Q2 anomaly) shows landlords consistently acquiring properties at a substantial discount, highlighting their ability to find and capitalize on market inefficiencies. The current 43.0% discount in Q4 signals a strong buyers' market for investors.

Landlords dominated the SFR purchase market in Perry County during Q4 2025, acquiring 11 properties and accounting for a significant 73.3% of the total 15 SFR purchases in the quarter. This highlights a robust investor presence and appetite for new acquisitions.

The Q4 purchasing activity was exclusively driven by mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04), who accounted for 100.0% of all 12 landlord purchases, with no activity from institutional investors (Tier 09). This reinforces the local nature of the investor market.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) were the primary drivers of Q4 activity, purchasing 10 (83.3%) of the 12 landlord-acquired properties through 18 distinct entities. This signifies a strong influx of new or expanding small-scale investors entering the market.

Smallest landlords continue to represent the vast majority of new acquisitions, with two-property (Tier 02) and small landlord (3-5 properties, Tier 03) tiers each contributing 1 property (8.3%) to the Q4 landlord purchases.

The high number of entities (18) for single-property purchases (10 properties) suggests that many new individual landlords are entering the market, each acquiring their first investment property, indicating a dynamic environment for new entrants.

The complete absence of institutional investor (Tier 09) purchases in Q4 underscores the local market's reliance on smaller, individual landlords for property acquisition and rental supply, deviating from larger, more consolidated markets.

Mom-and-pop landlords, encompassing those with 1 to 10 properties (Tiers 01-04), exhibit near-total market control, owning 924 SFR properties which represent an overwhelming 98.4% of all investor-owned housing in Perry County. This highlights the decentralized nature of the local rental market.

The backbone of investor-owned housing is the single-property landlord (Tier 01), who collectively own 831 properties, accounting for an immense 88.5% of the total investor portfolio. This signifies a market primarily composed of individual, small-scale investors.

In stark contrast to broader market trends, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) have no discernible presence in Perry County, holding 0 properties (0.0% of the market). This local market is entirely driven by smaller, independent landlords.

Mid-size landlords (Tiers 05-08) hold a minimal share; even the largest tier present, small-medium (11-20 properties, Tier 05), only accounts for 15 properties (1.6%). This further emphasizes the dominance of the smallest property owners.

The distribution clearly shows a steep decline in property counts as portfolio size increases, with 88.5% in Tier 01 dropping to 5.6% in Tier 02, and then to 3.7% in Tier 03-05. This concentration indicates that acquiring even a second property is a significant step for local investors.

The market structure in Perry County strongly suggests a barrier to entry or lack of interest for larger investment entities, solidifying its status as a fragmented, locally-driven rental market where small landlords are the sole providers of investor-owned housing.

Individual investors maintain a significant majority across all observed tiers of landlord-owned properties in Perry County, notably owning 95.3% of single-property portfolios (Tier 01) with 799 properties. This confirms individuals are the primary drivers of the rental market, even beyond entry level.

There is no crossover point where companies become the majority owners in Perry County; individual investors consistently hold the dominant share. Even in the relatively larger 6-10 property tier (Tier 04), individuals still represent 80.0% of owners, holding 4 properties compared to companies' 1 property (20.0%).

Company ownership remains a small minority, peaking at 20.0% in the 6-10 property tier and maintaining a relatively consistent presence of around 5-17% across smaller tiers. For instance, companies own 39 properties (4.7%) in Tier 01, 6 properties (11.3%) in Tier 02, and 6 properties (17.1%) in Tier 03.

The data reinforces the mom-and-pop nature of the Perry County investor market, where companies play a very minor role even in slightly larger, though still small, portfolios. This structure suggests a market less attractive or accessible to corporate investment.

The minimal presence of companies suggests that scaling up beyond a few properties often remains within the individual ownership structure, possibly due to local market dynamics, access to capital, or tax considerations.

Given the data provided, there are no "institutional companies" (Tier 09) in Perry County, reinforcing the local, non-corporate characteristic of the investor landscape.

Within Perry County, significant geographic concentration of investor-owned properties is observed, with Zip Code TN-Perry-37096 leading by volume with 594 landlord-owned SFR properties, representing 38.5% of its total SFR market.

While TN-Perry-37096 has the highest count, Zip Code TN-Perry-37033 exhibits the highest investor ownership rate at an exceptional 68.8%, despite having a smaller total of 11 investor-owned properties. This indicates a high saturation of investor activity within a more limited housing stock.

The top two zip codes by property count, TN-Perry-37096 (594 properties) and TN-Perry-37097 (236 properties), collectively hold 830 investor-owned SFRs, highlighting the concentration of rental assets in these specific areas within Perry County.

Zip Code TN-Perry-38425 shows a notably high investor ownership rate of 58.8% across its 77 investor-owned properties, placing it second in terms of saturation, indicating a strong landlord presence in a smaller market segment.

A clear divergence exists between regions with the highest counts of investor properties and those with the highest investor ownership rates. For example, TN-Perry-37033 has a high rate (68.8%) but low count (11 properties), whereas 37096 has a high count (594 properties) with a lower rate (38.5%). This distinction is crucial for understanding different market dynamics.

The varied investor ownership rates across zip codes, ranging from 38.5% to 68.8% among the top regions, suggests varying levels of market maturity or attractiveness to investors at a granular level within Perry County.

Landlords in Perry County consistently operate as strong net buyers, significantly expanding their portfolios, as evidenced by 20 purchases against only 1 sale in Q4 2025, resulting in a net gain of 19 properties.

This net buying trend is not limited to the current quarter; landlords maintained a robust acquisition strategy throughout the past two years, with 64 purchases versus 6 sales in 2024, and 57 purchases versus 5 sales in 2025, accumulating a net total of 110 properties over this period.

In Q2 2025, landlords demonstrated high activity with 20 purchases compared to 4 sales, signaling continued confidence in the market and an aggressive stance on property acquisition.

The absence of any recorded institutional investor (1000+ tier) transactions across all timeframes suggests that this segment of the market has no presence or involvement in transaction activity in Perry County.

The significant imbalance between buy and sell transactions highlights a market where properties are primarily entering the landlord-owned inventory rather than being churned through sales to other investors or out of investor hands.

The consistent net buying indicates that Perry County is an attractive market for landlords looking to grow their portfolios, with a low rate of divestment compared to acquisition.

Landlords were the dominant force in Q4 2025 transactions, participating in 20 deals and accounting for a substantial 74.1% of the total 27 SFR transactions in Perry County. This underscores their outsized influence on market liquidity.

All landlord transactions in Q4 came from mom-and-pop investors (Tiers 01-04), totaling 20 transactions, with no recorded activity from institutional investors (Tier 09). This reiterates the local, small-investor driven nature of the market.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) were the most active, completing 18 transactions at an average purchase price of $171,490. This suggests new investors are entering the market at a higher price point compared to larger mom-and-pop tiers.

Inter-landlord trading was minimal, with only 2 transactions (11.1%) by single-property landlords being acquired from other landlords, suggesting that most acquisitions are from traditional homeowners or other non-landlord sellers.

Smaller landlords (Tiers 02 and 03-05) acquired properties at a significantly lower average price of $50,000, indicating a potential strategy for securing distressed or value-add properties, starkly contrasting with Tier 01's average of $171,490.

The high share of landlord transactions, coupled with the dominance of single-property buyers at relatively higher prices, suggests a healthy influx of new, small-scale investors actively shaping the local housing market.