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

Landlords in Roane County own a substantial portfolio of 4,048 SFR properties, representing 22.1% of the total SFR market of 18,318 properties. This highlights a significant and active investor presence in the local housing market.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the landlord-owned SFR market in Roane County, controlling 3,644 properties, which accounts for 90.0% of the total investor-owned SFR. Companies own a smaller share, with 436 properties (10.8%).

The vast majority of landlords are individuals, with 4,808 individual landlords compared to only 306 company landlords in Roane County. This means individual landlords outnumber companies by a ratio of nearly 15.7 to 1, underscoring the predominantly 'mom-and-pop' nature of the market structure.

The investor-owned portfolio is heavily geared towards rentals, with 3,982 properties designated as rented. This indicates that almost all investor-owned SFR properties in Roane County are actively contributing to the rental housing supply.

Cash purchases are the predominant acquisition strategy for landlords in Roane County, with 3,242 properties held outright. This is significantly higher than the 806 properties that are financed, suggesting a strong preference for unencumbered assets or a cash-rich investor base among local landlords.

The large number of individual landlords (4,808) compared to the 3,644 individual-owned SFR properties suggests that many entities classified as landlords may have very small portfolios, potentially including those owning properties outside Roane County or acquiring their first local property.

Landlords in Roane County consistently secure properties at a significant discount compared to traditional homeowners. In Q4 2025, landlords paid an average of $295,665, which is $72,040 (19.6%) less than homeowners who paid $367,705.

The pricing advantage for landlords has notably narrowed throughout 2025. The discount decreased from a substantial 31.4% ($117,889) in Q1 2025, where landlords paid $257,574 versus homeowners' $375,463, to 19.6% ($72,040) in Q4 2025, suggesting a tightening market.

Landlord acquisition prices have seen a notable increase year-over-year, rising from an average of $251,079 in Year 2024 to $289,044 in Year 2025. This 15.1% price growth indicates a growing cost of entry for investors, even with their secured discount.

Comparing the average landlord acquisition price from the pandemic-era (2020-2023) at $204,331 to the Q4 2025 price of $295,665, properties have appreciated by 44.7% ($91,334) for investors in Roane County over this period.

While the overall discount narrowed, landlord average prices themselves fluctuated, peaking at $309,280 in Q3 before slightly decreasing to $295,665 in Q4. This indicates dynamic market conditions impacting both investor and homeowner purchase prices.

The continued, albeit narrowing, price discount for landlords signifies their ability to find advantageous deals, acquire properties needing repairs, or leverage specific market knowledge, enabling a lower cost basis than traditional owner-occupants.

Landlords in Roane County demonstrated strong activity in Q4 2025, securing 53 SFR properties, which accounts for 24.5% of all 216 SFR purchases during the quarter. This highlights a notable investor presence in the local market.

Small-scale 'mom-and-pop' landlords (Tiers 01-04) are the primary drivers of investor purchasing activity, accounting for 46 properties or 86.8% of all landlord acquisitions in Q4. This strongly contrasts with institutional investors (Tier 09), who made no purchases (0.0%).

The market saw a significant entry of single-property investors (Tier 01), with 35 entities making purchases. This group was responsible for 26 properties, representing nearly half (49.1%) of all landlord Q4 purchases, signaling a robust influx of new, small-scale investors.

Q4 purchasing activity is heavily concentrated in the smaller tiers. Tiers 01 (26 properties) and 03-05 (12 properties) together accounted for over 70% of all landlord purchases, indicating that smaller investors are driving current market acquisitions.

Larger investor tiers (e.g., 51-100 properties, 101-1000 properties) show minimal Q4 purchasing, with only 2 properties and 1 property respectively. This suggests that the current quarter's buying opportunities are primarily being seized by smaller and mid-sized investors rather than large-scale entities.

For single-property landlords (Tier 01), 35 entities acquired 26 properties, indicating more distinct individual buying entities were active in this tier than the number of single properties purchased, suggesting fragmented acquisition behavior.

Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04, 1-10 properties) overwhelmingly control the investor-owned SFR market in Roane County, accounting for 3,983 properties, or 95.6% of the total. This highlights the market's reliance on small-scale investors.

The single-property tier (Tier 01) forms the absolute backbone of the investor market, owning 3,363 properties, which is 80.7% of all landlord-held SFR. This emphasizes that first-time or very small landlords are the primary property holders.

Despite common narratives, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) have a negligible presence in Roane County, owning only 3 properties, which represents a mere 0.1% of the total investor-owned SFR. This suggests a highly localized and small-investor driven market.

Beyond single-property owners, the next largest concentration is in the 3-5 property tier (Tier 03-05) with 287 properties (6.9%), followed by the two-property tier (Tier 02) with 227 properties (5.4%). These smallest tiers collectively constitute the vast majority of investor holdings.

The distribution across tiers reveals a highly fragmented market structure, where no single large investor or even mid-sized group holds a dominant position. Small to medium-sized landlords (11-100 properties) together own only 4.3% of the total investor-owned SFR.

Specific pricing data by tier and historical changes in tier distribution (All Time vs recent quarters) are not available within this section's provided data, limiting a detailed analysis of price variations and evolution over time by investor size.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the smallest portfolios in Roane County. For single-property (Tier 01) landlords, individuals own 3,188 properties (94.3%), significantly exceeding the 194 properties (5.7%) owned by companies in this tier. This pattern continues through the 2-property and 3-5 property tiers, where individuals hold 84.7% and 82.6% respectively.

The shift to company majority ownership occurs relatively early, specifically at the small landlord (6-10 properties) tier. In this tier, companies control 59 properties (55.7%), surpassing individual ownership of 47 properties (44.3%).

As portfolio sizes grow, company ownership becomes increasingly dominant. In the medium-large (51-100 properties) tier, companies own 10 properties (90.9%) compared to only 1 individual-owned property (9.1%), signaling that larger-scale investing is predominantly structured under company entities.

The small-medium tiers (11-20 and 21-50 properties) show a more balanced, but still company-majority, split. In the 11-20 tier, companies hold 51.2% (62 properties) versus individuals' 48.8% (59 properties), while for the 21-50 tier, companies own 53.3% (24 properties) against individuals' 46.7% (21 properties).

Although companies lead in larger tiers, individual investors still maintain a notable presence even in the large (101-1000 properties) tier, holding 1 property (33.3%) compared to companies' 2 properties (66.7%). This indicates some highly sophisticated or long-term individual investors operate at a considerable scale.

Detailed analysis of individual vs. company acquisition prices within each tier, and a comparison of their growth patterns over time (e.g., all-time vs. Q4), is limited by the absence of specific pricing and temporal breakdown data for this section.

Investor-owned SFR properties in Roane County are highly concentrated in a few key zip codes. TN-Roane-37748 leads with 1,200 investor-owned properties, followed closely by TN-Roane-37763 (1,004 properties) and TN-Roane-37854 (994 properties).

Certain zip codes exhibit particularly high investor ownership rates, indicating markets with significant landlord penetration. TN-Roane-37880 has the highest rate at 33.4% of its SFR properties being investor-owned, closely followed by TN-Roane-37874 at 33.3%.

The zip code TN-Roane-37854 demonstrates both high investor-owned property counts (994 properties, ranking 3rd) and a significant ownership rate of 28.6% (ranking 3rd by percentage). This indicates a hotbed for investor activity both in sheer volume and market penetration.

The distinct top 5 lists for property count and ownership percentage highlight localized investor hotspots within Roane County. For example, 37748 has the highest count but a 23.8% rate, while 37880 has the highest rate, suggesting diverse investment strategies targeting different market characteristics.

These patterns suggest that investors in Roane County are either targeting large markets for volume or smaller markets for higher penetration, reflecting a segmented approach to real estate investment within the county.

A more comprehensive analysis of geographic distribution, including total SFR inventory per sub-geography, the number of landlord entities per region, and average acquisition prices by sub-geography, is limited by the absence of this specific data in the provided snippet for section 10.

Landlords in Roane County are consistently net buyers of SFR properties. In Year 2025, they acquired 277 properties while selling 84, resulting in a net increase of 193 properties. This sustained buying activity indicates strong market confidence and ongoing portfolio expansion.

This net buyer trend is consistent across Q2, Q3, and Q4 2025, demonstrating continuous accumulation. In Q4, landlords bought 69 properties against 10 sells (net 59); in Q3, 77 buys versus 21 sells (net 56); and in Q2, 77 buys versus 29 sells (net 48).

While still net buyers, overall landlord purchase activity in Year 2025 (277 buys) shows a slight decrease compared to Year 2024 (309 buys). This 10.3% reduction in purchases suggests a moderating pace of acquisition, although demand remains strong.

Institutional investors (1000+ tier) were net buyers in Year 2025, with 7 buys against 4 sells, resulting in a net acquisition of 3 properties. However, their activity is much lower in volume compared to the broad landlord market, indicating limited large-scale corporate expansion.

Despite being net buyers overall in 2025, institutional investors exhibited a net neutral position in Q2, with 2 buys and 2 sells. This specific quarter suggests a period of balanced portfolio adjustment rather than aggressive expansion or divestment from large players.

Analysis of the percentage of buy/sell transactions between landlords (inter-landlord activity) and average buy/sell prices (for implied margins) is limited by the absence of this specific data in the provided snippet for section 11.

Landlords played a notable role in the Q4 2025 housing market in Roane County, engaging in 69 transactions, which represents 21.0% of the total 329 SFR transactions during the quarter. This indicates a consistent investor presence in market liquidity.

Transaction volume is heavily concentrated among smaller investors. Single-property landlords (Tier 01) led all tiers with 35 transactions, followed by small landlords (Tier 03-05) with 15 transactions. This reinforces the 'mom-and-pop' nature of market activity in Q4.

There's a wide disparity in average purchase prices across investor tiers. Two-property landlords (Tier 02) recorded the highest average price at $453,889, while small-medium landlords (Tier 21-50) secured properties at an exceptionally low average of $32,000. This suggests diverse strategies, from high-value acquisitions to distressed asset purchases.

Inter-landlord transactions, where properties are bought from other landlords, show varied reliance by tier. Medium-large landlords (Tier 51-100) had 50.0% of their 2 transactions originating from other landlords, indicating some portfolio restructuring within the investor community for these larger players.

Institutional investors (Tier 09) showed no transaction activity in Q4 2025, aligning with their minimal acquisition presence noted in Section 7 and overall limited holdings in Section 8. This confirms their non-participatory stance in the current quarter's transaction volume.

The dramatic price spread of $421,889 between the highest ($453,889 for Tier 02) and lowest ($32,000 for Tier 21-50) average purchase prices in Q4 highlights significant market segmentation, where different investor sizes target vastly different property types or conditions.

For the most active single-property landlords (Tier 01), only 1 transaction out of 35 (2.9%) was from another landlord, suggesting they primarily acquire properties from traditional sellers rather than within the existing investor ecosystem.