Davis (UT) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Landlords in Davis County, UT, collectively own 11,887 Single Family Residential (SFR) properties, accounting for 13.2% of the total SFR market in the county. This substantial portfolio underscores the significant role investors play in the local housing landscape, representing over one in eight SFR homes.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the landlord sector, holding 8,728 properties, which constitutes 73.4% of all investor-owned SFR. Companies, by contrast, own 3,466 properties, making up the remaining 29.2% of the investor portfolio, highlighting that 'mom-and-pop' entities are the primary force.

The ownership structure by entity count further emphasizes the prevalence of individual landlords, with 12,716 individual landlords compared to just 1,730 company landlords. This 7.3:1 ratio of individual to company landlords indicates a highly fragmented market, with many small-scale investors.

A striking 97.5% of landlord-owned properties (11,590 out of 11,887) are designated as rented, confirming a near-exclusive focus on generating rental income rather than owner-occupancy. This high proportion highlights the rental market's reliance on these investor-held properties.

Financing methods for investor properties are almost evenly split, with 6,169 properties (51.9%) being financed and 5,718 properties (48.1%) acquired with cash. This balance suggests a mix of leveraging strategies and direct capital investment within the landlord community in Davis County, UT.

In Q4 2025, landlords in Davis County, UT, paid an average acquisition price of $638,430, which remarkably stands as an 11.1% premium over the $574,730 paid by traditional homeowners. This represents a significant $63,700 additional cost per property for investors in the latest quarter.

This Q4 premium contrasts sharply with earlier quarters in 2025, where landlords consistently acquired properties at a discount. In Q3, landlords paid $570,720, a 1.7% discount ($10,088 less) compared to homeowners at $580,808. In Q2, they secured a 3.9% discount ($23,782 less) at $587,516 versus homeowner prices of $611,298.

The largest discount for landlords occurred in Q1 2025, where they paid $530,915, a substantial 6.9% ($39,054 less) than the $569,969 paid by traditional homeowners. The rapid swing from a consistent discount to a significant premium in Q4 indicates a notable shift in market competition or investor willingness to pay more.

While data on landlord acquisition volume for specific historical timeframes (2025-Q1 to 2024-Q4) shows 0 properties, the available price comparisons highlight a clear reversal in pricing trends. Landlords in Q4 2025 are no longer securing the price advantages observed earlier in the year.

In Q4 2025, landlords in Davis County, UT, acquired 168 SFR properties, representing 15.3% of all SFR purchases in the county. This indicates a consistent, albeit smaller, share of market activity compared to other buyers who purchased 929 properties during the same period.

Mom-and-pop landlords, defined as those owning 1-10 properties (Tiers 01-04), were overwhelmingly the most active buyers, responsible for 161 purchases, equating to 95.8% of all landlord acquisitions in Q4. This demonstrates their continued dominance in property accumulation in the county.

The single-property landlord tier (Tier 01) accounted for the largest segment of Q4 purchases, with 117 properties acquired by 167 distinct entities. This signifies a strong influx of new or expanding small-scale investors, forming the backbone of landlord acquisition activity.

Mid-size landlords also showed activity, with Tiers 02 (two-property) acquiring 13 properties by 14 entities and Tiers 03-05 (3-10 properties) purchasing 31 properties by 18 entities. These segments collectively contribute to the mom-and-pop majority in Q4 buying.

Notably, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) made no purchases in Davis County, UT, during Q4 2025. This complete absence of institutional buying activity further emphasizes the market's reliance on smaller, individual landlords for property acquisition.

The average properties per entity varies across tiers, with single-property entities (Tier 01) making 117 purchases by 167 entities, indicating that some existing single-property landlords are also adding to their portfolios, not just new entrants. However, the majority of active entities are still in the lowest tier, suggesting a highly decentralized acquisition market.

Mom-and-pop landlords, encompassing Tiers 01-04 (1-10 properties), collectively control an overwhelming 87.8% of all investor-owned SFR properties in Davis County, UT. This translates to 10,611 properties, reinforcing their status as the dominant force in the county's rental housing market.

Within the mom-and-pop segment, single-property landlords (Tier 01) are particularly prominent, owning 9,018 properties which account for 74.6% of the total investor-owned SFR. This highlights the foundational role of first-time or single-investment landlords in the overall market structure.

In stark contrast to the mom-and-pop dominance, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) hold a relatively small share of 3.6%, representing 431 properties. This suggests that while present, large-scale corporate entities do not exert the same market influence in Davis County as smaller investors.

The distribution of properties across all tiers reveals a steep drop-off after Tier 01, with Tier 02 holding 4.3% (515 properties), Tier 03-05 holding 6.6% (801 properties), and Tier 06-10 holding 2.3% (277 properties). This rapid decline underscores the prevalence of very small portfolios.

Mid-size landlords (Tiers 11-1000) collectively own 8.7% of the investor-held properties, with 189 properties in Tier 11-20, 238 in Tier 21-50, 272 in Tier 51-100, and 352 in Tier 101-1000. These segments demonstrate the diverse range of investors beyond the smallest and largest categories.

While the data provides property counts and percentages for tier distribution, specific average acquisition prices by tier are not available for direct comparison. Therefore, insights into whether larger investors pay more or less than smaller landlords cannot be drawn from the provided pricing data by tier.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the smallest segment of the market in Davis County, UT, owning 87.0% of single-property (Tier 01) SFR holdings, totaling 8,048 properties. Companies hold a much smaller share at 13.0% (1,206 properties) in this foundational tier.

The shift towards company dominance becomes evident as portfolio size increases, with a clear crossover point between the '3-5 properties' and '6-10 properties' tiers. In the 3-5 property tier, individuals still hold a majority at 57.1% (466 properties), compared to companies at 42.9% (350 properties).

For portfolios of 6-10 properties (Small Landlord Tier 06-10), companies become the clear majority, owning 87.7% (243 properties), while individual ownership sharply drops to 12.3% (34 properties). This trend continues into larger tiers, where company ownership becomes almost exclusive.

In mid-to-large portfolios (Tiers 11-20 and 21-50), companies control virtually all properties, with 97.9% in both tiers (185 properties in Tier 11-20, 233 properties in Tier 21-50). Individual ownership in these tiers is minimal, at just 2.1% for both.

For the largest landlord tiers (101-1000+ properties), company ownership is almost absolute, holding 99.7% of properties in Tier 101-1000 (351 properties). This pattern illustrates that while individual investors form the broad base, corporate structures are primarily used for managing larger, multi-property portfolios in Davis County, UT.

The data does not provide specific growth patterns by owner type (all-time vs Q4) for a direct comparison of how individual and company holdings have evolved within tiers over recent periods.

In Davis County, UT, the zip code UT-Davis-84015 stands out with the highest count of investor-owned properties, totaling 2,375 SFRs. This concentration represents a substantial portion of the county's investor activity, with an ownership rate of 13.2% within that specific zip code.

Following closely, UT-Davis-84041 ranks second by property count with 2,035 investor-owned SFRs. This zip code also boasts the highest investor ownership rate in the county, at 16.2%, indicating that over one-sixth of its SFR housing stock is investor-controlled.

The top 5 sub-geographies by investor-owned count – UT-Davis-84015, UT-Davis-84041, UT-Davis-84010, UT-Davis-84040, and UT-Davis-84075 – collectively account for 7,986 investor properties. This represents approximately 67.2% of all investor-owned SFR in Davis County, demonstrating strong geographic concentration within a few key areas.

When examining investor ownership rates, UT-Davis-84041 not only has a high count but also leads the county with 16.2%. Other areas with high penetration include UT-Davis-84054 (14.5%), UT-Davis-84087 (14.2%), UT-Davis-84025 (14.1%), and UT-Davis-84014 (13.8%), indicating specific sub-markets with a higher proportion of rental housing.

There is a notable correlation between high property counts and high ownership percentages in Davis County, UT, as regions like UT-Davis-84041 appear in the top rankings for both metrics. This suggests that areas with a larger volume of investor properties also tend to have a higher penetration of investor ownership relative to their total housing stock.

Acquisition prices across these regions are not provided in this section, precluding insights into whether investors pay more or less in high-concentration areas. However, the varying ownership rates hint at differing market dynamics and investor appeal across these distinct sub-geographies within Davis County.

All landlords in Davis County, UT, continued their role as net buyers in Q4 2025, executing 226 buy transactions against 76 sell transactions, resulting in a robust buy/sell ratio of 2.97x. This consistent trend across 2025 (Year 2025 ratio of 2.78x with 849 buys and 305 sells) indicates a strong market for investor acquisition.

In sharp contrast, institutional investors (1000+ tier) were net sellers in Q4 2025, with 1 buy and 2 sells, yielding a 0.5x buy/sell ratio. This divestment trend is consistent throughout Year 2025, where institutions recorded 6 buys and 12 sells, solidifying their net seller position with the same 0.5x ratio.

The difference in transactional behavior between all landlords and institutional investors highlights a bifurcated market strategy: smaller landlords are actively accumulating properties, while larger institutional players appear to be divesting or consolidating their portfolios in Davis County, UT.

Comparing quarterly activity, the overall landlord buy transactions remained relatively stable in 2025, with 226 in Q4, 212 in Q3, and 248 in Q2. Sell transactions also show consistency, ranging from 76 to 88 per quarter, indicating a steady pace of market turnover driven by non-institutional investors.

While specific average buy and sell prices for all landlords are not explicitly provided in this section for a historical margin analysis, the consistent net buying suggests a favorable market for acquisitions from the perspective of the majority of landlords. Inter-landlord transaction percentages are also not available here.

The year-over-year comparison further solidifies the overall landlord net buyer trend, with 907 buys and 299 sells in Year 2024 (a 3.03x ratio), slightly higher than 2025's buy/sell activity, suggesting a stable, albeit slightly decreasing, acquisition pace over the past two years.

In Q4 2025, landlords in Davis County, UT, were involved in 226 transactions, representing 12.9% of the total 1,752 SFR transactions that occurred during the quarter. This indicates a measurable, but not dominant, presence of investors in the overall transaction volume.

Mom-and-pop landlords (Tier 01-04) were overwhelmingly active, participating in 215 transactions, which accounts for 95.1% of all landlord transactions in Q4. This reaffirms their critical role as the primary driver of market liquidity within the investor segment.

The average purchase price varied significantly by tier in Q4. Single-property landlords (Tier 01) recorded the highest average purchase price at $622,717 across 169 transactions. In contrast, small landlords (Tier 06-10) purchased properties at an average price of $456,316, representing a substantial $166,401 difference from Tier 01.

Inter-landlord trading activity shows varied patterns: single-property landlords (Tier 01) sourced 27 (16.0%) of their 169 transactions from other landlords. Small-medium landlords (Tier 11-20) sourced 20.0% (1 of 5 transactions) from other landlords, and Tier 21-50 sourced 50.0% (1 of 2 transactions).

Notably, some tiers, such as Tier 03-05 and Tier 101-1000, reported 0% of their transactions being bought from other landlords, suggesting they primarily acquire properties from traditional homeowners or other non-landlord sellers. This highlights diverse acquisition channels across different investor sizes.

With only one transaction for institutional investors (Tier 09) and a 'nan' average purchase price, a direct comparison of institutional vs. mom-and-pop pricing strategies cannot be conclusively made from this data. However, the higher average prices for smaller tiers (e.g., Tier 01) might reflect individual investors competing more directly with homeowners.

The distribution of Q4 transactions largely mirrors the overall ownership distribution by tier, reinforcing that the smaller landlord tiers, especially Tier 01, are not only the largest owners but also the most active participants in market transactions in Davis County, UT.