Cabell (WV) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Landlords in Cabell County, WV control a substantial 21.9% of the total 28,044 SFR properties, holding a portfolio of 6,144 distinct properties.

Individual investors overwhelmingly dominate the landlord landscape, owning 4,873 properties, which accounts for 79.3% of all investor-owned SFR. Companies, in contrast, hold 1,296 properties, comprising 21.1% of the portfolio.

The market structure is heavily skewed towards individual landlords, who number 5,727 compared to just 743 company landlords, representing an 88.5% to 11.5% split in entities.

A striking 96.6% of landlord-owned properties, totaling 5,937 properties, are utilized as rentals, underscoring the strong focus on providing housing for tenants in the county.

Cash acquisitions are the prevailing method among landlords, with 5,413 properties (88.1% of the portfolio) purchased with cash, significantly outpacing financed properties which account for only 731 properties (11.9%).

The high percentage of rented properties combined with a strong preference for cash purchases signals a robust and stable rental market in Cabell County, attracting landlords focused on long-term, non-owner-occupied investments.

In Q4 2025, landlords in Cabell County secured a substantial competitive advantage, paying an average of $150,996 for SFR properties. This represents a significant $56,847 discount, or 27.4% less than the $207,843 average paid by traditional homeowners.

The pricing advantage for landlords, while still considerable, has notably narrowed over recent quarters. The discount shrank from 35.4% in Q3 2025 (a $78,251 gap) to 27.4% in Q4 2025, indicating a tightening market or a shift in acquisition targets.

Despite the narrowing gap, landlords have seen considerable property value appreciation. The average acquisition price for landlords in Q4 2025 at $150,996 reflects a 27.5% increase from the $118,411 average observed during the 2020-2023 pandemic boom period.

Review of acquisition data indicates no landlord purchases were recorded for the aggregate 'Year 2025' and 'Year 2024' categories in the provided data, suggesting potential data collection nuances for these specific timeframes, despite explicit Q4 landlord purchase data elsewhere in the report.

The consistent pattern of landlords paying significantly less than homeowners across multiple quarters suggests a strategic approach to acquisitions, possibly targeting different property types, distressed assets, or off-market deals.

Comparing prices across recent quarters, the average landlord acquisition price remained relatively stable from Q1 ($144,586) to Q4 2025 ($150,996), with fluctuations primarily reflecting in the homeowner price and thus the resulting discount percentage.

In Q4 2025, landlords in Cabell County were active players, securing 64 SFR properties, which constitutes 27.1% of the total 236 SFR purchases made during the quarter.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) were the most active segment, acquiring 47 properties, representing a dominant 73.4% of all landlord purchases this quarter. This indicates a strong influx of new or first-time investors into the market.

Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) collectively drove 87.5% of landlord buying activity in Q4, purchasing 56 properties. This highlights their pivotal role in current market dynamics, far outstripping larger investors.

In contrast to the mom-and-pop surge, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) made only one purchase, representing a mere 1.6% of landlord acquisitions in Q4 2025.

The number of entities involved in Q4 purchases reveals 59 distinct entities making Tier 01 classified purchases, signifying a significant entry point for individual investors into the Cabell County rental market.

While single-property landlords dominate in sheer volume, medium-sized landlords (Tiers 21-50) also showed notable activity, acquiring 6 properties, which is 9.4% of total landlord purchases for the quarter.

The concentration of Q4 purchases among smaller landlords reinforces the narrative of a market primarily influenced by individual and small-scale investors rather than large corporate entities.

Mom-and-pop landlords, encompassing those with 1 to 10 properties (Tiers 01-04), exert overwhelming control over the investor-owned SFR market in Cabell County, holding a combined 93.5% share.

The backbone of this market is the single-property landlord (Tier 01), who alone owns 4,327 properties, representing a significant 68.6% of all investor-held SFR. This highlights the foundational role of first-time or single-investment landlords.

The concentration of ownership rapidly declines with portfolio size; for example, landlords owning 3-5 properties (Tier 03-05) hold 769 properties (12.2%), while those with 6-10 properties (Tier 06-10) own 304 properties (4.8%).

In stark contrast to the small landlord dominance, institutional investors (Tier 09), those with 1000+ properties, maintain a minimal footprint in Cabell County, controlling only 24 properties, which equates to a scant 0.4% of the total investor-owned portfolio.

The significant disparity between mom-and-pop and institutional ownership challenges common perceptions of large corporate entities dominating the rental housing market in Cabell County, with smaller investors holding nearly all the market share.

The data for average acquisition prices by tier was not available in this specific section, limiting the ability to analyze price variations across different investor sizes over time.

Individual investors are the dominant force in the smaller tiers of Cabell County's SFR market, controlling 88.6% of single-property portfolios and 78.0% of two-property portfolios, firmly establishing their presence at the entry level.

The landscape dramatically shifts as portfolio size increases; the crossover point where company ownership surpasses individual ownership occurs within the 11-20 property tier, where companies own 122 properties (74.8%) compared to individuals' 41 properties (25.2%).

This trend of increasing company dominance with portfolio size continues into larger tiers, with companies owning 82.2% of properties in the 21-50 tier and 77.8% in the 101-1000 tier, illustrating that larger portfolios are primarily managed by corporate entities.

Despite individual investors still maintaining a majority in the 3-5 property tier (73.6%) and a slim majority in the 6-10 property tier (53.9%), their influence steadily wanes as portfolio size scales up.

The data highlights a clear bifurcation in investor strategy by owner type: individuals prefer smaller, more manageable portfolios, while companies are geared towards accumulating larger numbers of properties.

The significant shift from nearly 90% individual ownership in Tier 01 to over 70% company ownership in Tier 11-20 underscores distinct operational models and capital capabilities between individual and corporate investors.

Within Cabell County, WV, investor-owned properties are heavily concentrated in specific zip codes. WV-Cabell-25701 leads by sheer volume, with 1,547 landlord-owned properties, representing 26.2% of its SFR market.

While WV-Cabell-25701 has the most investor-owned properties, WV-Cabell-25703 exhibits the highest investor ownership rate at a striking 46.7%, indicating that nearly half of all SFR properties in this zip code are landlord-owned, despite having a smaller total count of 446 investor properties.

The top five zip codes by investor-owned count collectively showcase a significant portion of Cabell County's investor activity, with WV-Cabell-25705 (1,351 properties), WV-Cabell-25702 (846 properties), and WV-Cabell-25504 (552 properties) also being major hubs.

A strong correlation exists between high property counts and high ownership rates, as several zip codes appear on both top lists, including 25701, 25702, and 25703, indicating highly attractive and saturated investment zones.

Beyond the top by count, other zip codes demonstrate notably high investor penetration. WV-Cabell-25704 has a 33.5% investor ownership rate, and WV-Cabell-25702 has 32.7%, signaling these areas as highly competitive or favorable for rental investments.

The varied distribution emphasizes that investors are not uniformly spread across Cabell County but rather target specific sub-markets, possibly driven by local demand, property values, or rental yield potential.

Landlords in Cabell County demonstrated significant buying momentum in Q4 2025, purchasing 76 SFR properties while selling only 16, resulting in a robust net acquisition of 60 properties and a buy/sell ratio of 4.75x.

This aggressive net buying trend is consistent throughout 2025 and 2024. For the full year 2025, landlords bought 337 properties against 59 sells (a 5.71x ratio), and in 2024, they purchased 404 properties against 77 sells (a 5.25x ratio), underscoring continuous market expansion.

In contrast to the overall landlord market, institutional investors (1000+ tier) showed a different pattern in Q4 2025, becoming net sellers. They purchased only 1 property while divesting 3, indicating a cautious or divestment strategy for the quarter.

Year-to-date for 2025, institutional investors were also net sellers, buying 6 and selling 7 properties. However, in 2024, they were net buyers, acquiring 8 properties versus 3 sells, suggesting a recent shift in their market stance.

The disparity between all landlords' aggressive buying and institutional investors' net selling position indicates that the overall market growth is being driven primarily by smaller-scale investors in Cabell County.

Information regarding the percentage of landlord transactions that were landlord-to-landlord trades was not available in the provided historical transaction data, precluding analysis of inter-investor market liquidity over time.

In Q4 2025, landlords in Cabell County were involved in 76 transactions, representing 23.8% of the total 319 SFR transactions in the market, highlighting their significant participation in property turnover.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) were the most active segment, responsible for 59 transactions. They acquired properties at an average price of $170,934, which was among the highest average prices observed across the active tiers in Q4.

Pricing strategies varied significantly by tier. While Tier 01 properties averaged $170,934, smaller landlord tiers like 3-5 and 21-50 saw remarkably lower average purchase prices of $36,275 and $35,667 respectively, suggesting acquisitions of lower-value or distressed properties.

Inter-landlord trading activity was observed, with 10.2% (6 transactions) of Tier 01 purchases originating from other landlords. Mid-sized landlords in Tier 21-50 displayed an even higher reliance on landlord-sourced properties, with 16.7% (1 transaction) of their purchases coming from other landlords.

The lack of an average purchase price for Tier 02 and Tier 09 transactions suggests either no activity or insufficient data to calculate a meaningful average for these specific segments during Q4 2025.

Mom-and-pop landlords (Tier 01-04) collectively accounted for 68 transactions, demonstrating their overwhelming influence on market activity and reinforcing their role as the primary drivers of transactions in Cabell County.

The relatively low proportion of inter-landlord transactions, even for the most active tiers, implies that most landlords are acquiring properties from traditional homeowners or other non-landlord sellers in Q4 2025.