Crawford (IN) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Investors hold a significant 24.4% of the Single-Family Residential (SFR) market in Crawford County, controlling 622 out of 2,551 total properties.

Individual investors are the definitive force in the local market, owning 571 properties, which constitutes a 91.8% share of all investor-owned SFRs. In contrast, company-owned portfolios account for just 54 properties, or 8.7% of the total.

The market is characterized by a massive prevalence of cash ownership, with 613 investor-held properties (98.6%) owned free and clear. This indicates a low reliance on leverage and a financially stable investor base, with only 9 properties (1.4%) being financed.

The composition of landlords mirrors the property ownership trend, with 755 individual landlords making up 93.7% of all investors. This dwarfs the 51 company landlords, demonstrating a market driven by small-scale, local participants rather than large corporations.

The primary purpose of these holdings is clear, as 615 properties are classified as rented. This near-total rental penetration underscores the business focus of the investor-owned portfolio in Crawford County.

The investor acquisition market in Crawford County completely froze in Q4 2025, with zero properties purchased by landlords. This lack of activity makes a direct price comparison against traditional homeowners for the quarter impossible.

While Q4 was static, historical data reveals a sharp increase in acquisition prices leading up to this period. The average price paid by landlords in 2024 was $218,435.

This 2024 price point represents a significant 58.4% appreciation from the average of $137,935 paid during the pandemic-era boom from 2020-2023, highlighting a period of rapid value growth before the recent halt in activity.

The absence of any purchases in the final quarter of 2025 suggests a dramatic shift in market conditions, investor sentiment, or a lack of available inventory meeting investor criteria.

The investor purchase market in Crawford County came to a complete standstill in Q4 2025, with landlords' share of acquisitions dropping to 0.0%. No properties were purchased by any investor type during this period.

This lack of activity was consistent across all investor sizes. Mom-and-pop landlords, who dominate the local market, made zero acquisitions in the quarter.

Similarly, institutional investors (1,000+ properties) also recorded no purchases, reflecting a market-wide pause rather than a shift in activity from one tier to another.

The complete absence of new market entrants is notable, with zero new single-property landlords (Tier 01) making purchases in Q4. This indicates a potential barrier to entry or a lack of confidence among new investors.

This halt in purchasing represents a significant deviation from prior trends and points to a potential market peak, inventory shortage, or a collective retreat by investors in response to local economic conditions.

The investor landscape in Crawford County is definitively controlled by small-scale operators. Mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties) own a staggering 98.6% of all investor-held SFRs.

First-time or single-holding investors (Tier 01) form the bedrock of this market, owning 565 properties, which accounts for 89.3% of the entire investor portfolio. This highlights the hyper-localized and fragmented nature of ownership.

The dominance of small investors is further emphasized by the minimal presence of larger players. Mid-size landlords (11-1,000 properties) collectively own just 7 properties, or 1.2% of the market.

Institutional investors (Tier 09) have a near-zero footprint in the county, holding only 2 properties for a 0.3% market share. This data strongly refutes any narrative of large corporate ownership in this specific geography.

The extreme concentration in the smallest tiers suggests a market characterized by local individuals investing in one or two properties, rather than a centrally managed, large-scale rental industry.

Individual investors are the primary owners across all significant tiers in Crawford County, with companies playing a minor, supplementary role. There is no crossover point where companies become the majority owners.

In the largest segment, single-property landlords, individuals own 532 of the 565 properties (93.7%), demonstrating that the entry-level of the market is almost exclusively non-corporate.

This pattern continues as portfolios grow. Among two-property owners, individuals hold 34 properties (87.2%) compared to just 5 for companies (12.8%).

Even in the small landlord tier (3-5 properties), individual ownership remains dominant at 88.9%, with individuals holding 16 properties versus 2 held by companies.

The data clearly shows that company ownership, while present, is a marginal aspect of the Crawford County rental market, and the investment landscape is driven by private individuals at every scale represented in the data.

Investor ownership in Crawford County is not evenly distributed, but rather concentrated in key geographic pockets. The top five zip codes by count hold 527 of the 622 investor-owned properties, representing 84.7% of the total investor portfolio.

The zip code 47513 stands out as the epicenter of investment activity, containing 240 investor-owned homes, which is 38.6% of the entire investor portfolio in the county.

This area is also the leader in market penetration, with an investor ownership rate of 60.5%. This indicates that a majority of SFR properties in this specific zip code are non-owner-occupied.

A clear gap exists between the top region and the rest, with 47513 having more than double the number of investor properties as the second-ranked zip code, 47137 (98 properties).

The top regions for investor-owned count and ownership percentage are largely the same, indicating that areas with a high volume of investor properties also have the highest market penetration rates, unlike in more diverse markets.

Prior to the recent market halt, landlords in Crawford County were heavily in an accumulation phase. In 2024, they acted as strong net buyers, purchasing 20 SFR properties while only selling 2.

This activity resulted in a buy-to-sell ratio of 10.0x, indicating that for every property sold by an investor, ten were acquired. This signals strong confidence and a clear strategy of portfolio expansion during that year.

The net gain of 18 properties in 2024 represents a significant portion of the overall portfolio, highlighting the importance of recent transaction activity in shaping the current market structure.

The stark contrast between the high net buying of 2024 and the zero transactions of Q4 2025 marks a dramatic and abrupt shift in market dynamics, moving from aggressive growth to a complete standstill in a short period.

Institutional transaction data is unavailable, but the overall market trend was unequivocally pointed towards acquisition before the recent pause.

Q4 2025 was defined by a complete lack of transactional activity in the Crawford County SFR market. Landlords were involved in zero transactions, accounting for 0.0% of a non-existent market.

This inactivity was uniform across all investor sizes. Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04), who represent the vast majority of owners, did not transact any properties.

Likewise, the market's few institutional-scale investors (Tier 09) also recorded zero transactions, indicating the pause was not isolated to a specific capital class.

Consequently, no inter-landlord trading occurred. The percentage of properties bought from other landlords was 0%, as no acquisitions of any kind were made.

The absence of deals means no average purchase price can be calculated for any tier, leaving the market without recent pricing benchmarks and highlighting the severity of the transactional freeze.