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

In Ohio County, IN, investors hold a 9.4% share of the Single-Family Residential market, with a total of 137 properties under their ownership.

The market is overwhelmingly controlled by individual investors, who own 108 properties, accounting for 78.8% of the investor-owned portfolio. Company investors hold the remaining 30 properties (21.9%).

This individual dominance is even more pronounced when looking at the entities themselves, with 143 individual landlords compared to just 19 company landlords operating in the county.

A key financial characteristic of this market is the preference for cash purchases. A striking 90.5% of investor-owned properties (124 homes) are owned outright, with only 13 properties (9.5%) being financed.

The portfolio is almost exclusively dedicated to rentals, as 136 of the 137 investor-owned properties are non-owner-occupied, underscoring the business focus of these holdings.

A massive pricing disparity defines the Ohio County market, where landlords in Q4 2025 paid an average of $73,150, a staggering 70.9% less than the $251,309 paid by traditional homeowners.

This represents a cash discount of $178,159 per property, suggesting investors are targeting distressed assets, off-market deals, or properties requiring significant renovation that fall outside the typical retail market.

This isn't a one-time anomaly; the trend of deep discounts has been consistent throughout the year. In Q2 2025, landlords paid 59.7% less ($120,555 vs. $298,806), and in Q1 they paid 65.0% less ($72,500 vs. $207,362).

The low volume of transactions, with zero recorded landlord purchases in the 2020-2023 period, highlights a market with low liquidity where investors act opportunistically on deeply discounted properties rather than competing in the mainstream market.

In Q4 2025, investor activity accounted for 14.3% of the 14 total SFR sales in Ohio County, with landlords purchasing 2 homes.

The entirety of this acquisition activity was driven by the smallest investors. Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) made 100% of the investor purchases, with institutional investors (Tier 09) showing no activity.

All 2 properties purchased were by new, single-property landlords (Tier 01), indicating that the market's growth is fueled by new entrants rather than portfolio expansion from existing players.

Interestingly, these 2 properties were acquired by 3 distinct entities, suggesting a co-ownership or partnership structure for these initial investments.

This quarter's activity reinforces the market's character as one built on new, small-scale investment, completely separate from large-scale corporate buying.

The ownership structure in Ohio County is definitively small-scale, with mom-and-pop landlords (owning 1-10 properties) controlling a combined 91.5% of all investor-owned SFRs.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) are the most significant group by far, holding 108 properties, which accounts for 76.6% of the entire investor portfolio.

The concentration at the small end of the scale is stark: landlords with 1-5 properties collectively own 90.8% of the investor-owned housing stock in the county.

In stark contrast, institutional investors (Tier 09) have absolutely no footprint in this market, with 0.0% ownership.

Even mid-size landlords are rare, with only three investors holding portfolios larger than 10 properties, further cementing the market's reliance on small, local operators.

Individual investors form the foundation of the rental market in Ohio County, owning 96 of the 108 single-property portfolios, an 88.1% share.

The transition to corporate ownership happens almost immediately as portfolios grow. In the two-property tier, ownership is split evenly, with individuals and companies each holding 5 properties (50.0%).

For slightly larger portfolios of 3-10 properties, individuals remain the sole owners in this dataset, indicating a distinct operational ceiling before corporate structures become necessary or advantageous.

This pattern reveals a clear market structure: individuals dominate the entry-level, single-home investment space, but incorporation becomes a key strategy for those who expand beyond their first property.

Investor ownership in Ohio County is not evenly distributed but is instead highly concentrated in a few key areas. The zip code 47040 is the epicenter of activity, home to 107 investor-owned properties, representing 78.1% of the total investor portfolio.

The top two zip codes, 47040 and 47001 (20 properties), together account for 127 of the 137 investor-owned homes, a concentration of 92.7%.

The areas with the highest property counts are also the areas with the highest penetration rates. Zip code 47017 has the highest rate at 10.0%, followed closely by 47040 at 9.7% and 47001 at 8.8%.

This data illustrates a targeted investment strategy, where landlords focus their capital within specific neighborhoods rather than spreading it broadly across the county.

The remaining zip codes in the county have minimal investor presence, with most having only one investor-owned property or none at all.

Overall transaction history shows that landlords in Ohio County are in a modest accumulation phase. For the full year of 2025, landlords were net buyers, acquiring 6 properties while selling only 4.

This continues a trend from 2024, where they were also net buyers with a margin of 2 properties (5 buys vs. 3 sells).

However, activity can be inconsistent quarter-to-quarter, as seen in Q2 2025 when landlords were net sellers, divesting 3 properties while only purchasing 1.

The low volume of transactions underscores a buy-and-hold strategy prevalent in the market, rather than high-frequency flipping or trading.

Institutional investors (1000+ tier) have no transaction history in this market, reinforcing their complete absence from both an ownership and activity standpoint.

In Q4 2025, landlords were involved in 3 of the 23 total SFR transactions in Ohio County, capturing a 13.0% share of market activity.

All of this activity was concentrated at the entry level of the market. Single-property landlords (Tier 01) were responsible for 100% of these transactions.

These new investors purchased their properties at an average price of $73,150, aligning with the deep discount strategy observed across the market.

Notably, 0% of these acquisitions were from other landlords. This indicates that new entrants are purchasing properties from traditional homeowners or other sources, rather than participating in an insular investor-to-investor market.

The absence of transactions in any other tier highlights that market liquidity and growth are currently being driven exclusively by new mom-and-pop investors.