Stevens (KS) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Investors hold a substantial 36.0% of the total Single-Family Residential (SFR) market in Stevens County, with a portfolio of 477 properties out of 1,326 total.

Individual 'mom-and-pop' investors are the definitive owners in this market, controlling 399 properties, which accounts for 83.6% of the investor-owned housing stock. Company investors own the remaining 81 properties (17.0%).

A defining characteristic of this market is its complete reliance on cash. All 477 investor-owned properties were acquired without financing, signaling a market composed of debt-free assets and investors who do not rely on leverage.

The portfolio is heavily geared towards generating rental income, with 466 properties (97.7%) identified as rented. This high rental concentration underscores the primary strategy of local investors.

While individual landlords are more numerous (497 entities), company landlords (49 entities) own a larger average portfolio, holding 81 properties compared to the 399 properties spread across a larger base of individuals.

A comparison of acquisition prices between landlords and traditional homeowners cannot be performed for Q4 2025 due to a complete absence of recorded sales transactions for either group during the period.

The lack of recent market activity is not a new phenomenon; data for the 2020-2023 timeframe also shows zero recorded property acquisitions by landlords, making long-term price trend analysis impossible.

This absence of data is a key insight into the nature of the Stevens County real estate market, pointing towards an environment with extremely low liquidity and turnover.

Investors and homeowners in this area appear to operate on a buy-and-hold basis, with very few properties changing hands on the open market in recent years.

Consequently, it is not possible to determine if a price gap exists between landlords and homeowners or to analyze appreciation trends, as the necessary transaction data is unavailable.

The investor share of the Q4 2025 purchase market was 0.0%, reflecting a complete halt in sales activity across Stevens County, where total SFR purchases were zero.

This market freeze was consistent across all investor sizes. Mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties), who constitute the vast majority of owners, made no new acquisitions.

Similarly, institutional investors, who have no existing presence in the county, did not enter the market, recording zero purchases in Q4.

The lack of Tier 01 (single-property) purchases indicates that no new landlords entered the Stevens County market during the fourth quarter.

This data suggests a deeply stable or stagnant market where assets are rarely traded, and new investment activity was nonexistent in the final quarter of 2025.

The investor landscape in Stevens County is completely dominated by small-scale operators. Mom-and-pop landlords, owning between 1 and 10 properties, control 95.4% of all investor-owned SFR housing.

First-time or single-holding investors (Tier 01) form the bedrock of the market, alone accounting for 318 properties, a 64.2% share of the total investor portfolio.

Mid-size landlords (11-50 properties) represent a very small fraction of the market, holding a combined 4.6% of properties.

The market has no presence from large-scale or institutional investors (Tier 09), underscoring its character as a purely local, small-investor environment.

Due to the lack of recent transactions, it is not possible to analyze how acquisition prices may vary by tier or whether ownership distribution has shifted over time.

Individual investors overwhelmingly control portfolios of all sizes in Stevens County, with no tier showing a majority ownership by companies.

In the foundational single-property (Tier 01) category, individuals own 284 properties (89.3%), compared to just 34 properties (10.7%) owned by companies.

This pattern of individual dominance continues up the scale. For landlords with 3-5 properties, individuals own 85.4%, and even in the largest active segment (6-10 properties), they still hold a 78.6% majority.

The data clearly shows that as portfolio sizes increase in Stevens County, ownership remains firmly in the hands of individual investors rather than shifting towards corporate structures.

Pricing differences between individual and company buyers cannot be assessed, as the lack of transaction data prevents any meaningful comparison of acquisition strategies.

The majority of investor-owned properties in Stevens County are located in a single zip code, 67951, which contains 404 SFR properties held by investors.

However, the highest concentration of investor ownership is found in zip code 67952, where landlords own 62.4% of the housing stock. This indicates a market far more defined by rental properties than any other in the county.

This contrast reveals two different types of investor markets within the county: one with a high volume of investor properties (67951) and another with an extremely high saturation rate (67952).

The 33.4% ownership rate in the highest-volume zip code (67951) is still significant, well above national averages and indicating widespread investor presence.

The data for zip code 67954 was not available, preventing a complete geographic analysis of the county.

A complete lack of historical transaction data for Stevens County makes it impossible to analyze long-term investor behavior, including buying and selling trends.

There is no data to determine whether landlords have historically been net buyers or net sellers, a key indicator of market sentiment and growth.

Analysis of inter-landlord trading is also not possible. The data cannot reveal what percentage of transactions occur between investors, which would otherwise provide insight into market liquidity and dynamism.

Similarly, a comparison of average buy prices versus sell prices over time cannot be conducted, precluding any analysis of potential profit margins or asset appreciation for investors.

This data gap strongly suggests a market characterized by very long holding periods and infrequent sales, consistent with the findings of zero recent activity.

In Q4 2025, landlords were involved in 0.0% of the market's 0 total transactions, indicating a complete pause in buying and selling activity.

This inactivity was uniform across all investor sizes, from single-property landlords (Tier 01) to the largest local operators, with none recording a purchase or sale.

As a result, it is impossible to compare the average purchase prices across different tiers, which would typically reveal varying investment strategies between small and larger landlords.

The percentage of properties bought from other landlords could not be calculated, as no acquisitions occurred from any source.

The Q4 transaction data reinforces the primary narrative of a dormant market where assets are held for the long term and sales are exceedingly rare.