Perry (AR) Investor Pulse Report (2026-Q1)

In Perry County, AR, investors hold 558 single-family residential properties, accounting for 22.3% of the total 2,504 SFRs in the market. This represents a significant portion of the local housing stock controlled by landlords.

Ownership is overwhelmingly skewed towards individuals rather than corporations. Individual investors own 508 properties, which is 91.0% of the total investor portfolio, while companies own the remaining 57 properties (10.2%).

The investor base itself reflects this structure, with 669 individual landlords compared to just 42 company landlords. This nearly 16-to-1 ratio underscores the 'mom-and-pop' nature of the local real estate investing landscape.

A defining characteristic of this market is the preference for cash purchases. A total of 551 investor-owned properties are owned outright without financing, while only 7 properties are financed. This suggests investors in this area are either high-liquidity buyers or are acquiring lower-priced assets.

The portfolio is heavily focused on rentals, with 550 of the 558 properties being rented out. This high rental concentration confirms that the primary strategy for investors in Perry County is generating rental income.

While recent acquisition activity is nonexistent, historical data reveals a significant pricing advantage for landlords in Perry County. In Q3 2025, landlords paid an average of $50,000, a staggering 64.6% less than the $141,125 paid by traditional homeowners, equating to a $91,125 discount.

This trend was also evident in Q2 2025, when landlords purchased properties for an average of $111,400, which was 54.7% below the homeowner price of $245,886. Such a large and consistent gap suggests investors were likely targeting distressed or off-market properties not available to typical buyers.

The complete absence of landlord purchases in more recent periods, including Year 2024 and Year 2025 data, signals a dormant market. There is no current data to analyze price trends or compare against past performance due to this lack of activity.

The historical average acquisition price during the 2020-2023 period was $87,540, which is higher than the prices seen in the most recent periods with activity. This could indicate a shift in the types of properties available or a broader market cooldown leading to the current freeze in transactions.

The most recent quarter saw a complete freeze in investor acquisition activity in Perry County. Landlords purchased zero single-family properties, representing 0.0% of the total market share for new purchases.

This lack of activity was universal across all investor sizes. Mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties), who dominate the ownership landscape, made no new purchases. Similarly, institutional investors (1000+ properties) also recorded zero acquisitions.

The data indicates that no new landlords entered the market, as there were no purchases registered in the single-property tier. This inactivity contrasts with typical market behavior where new investors are constantly entering.

The total of zero properties acquired by zero entities across all nine purchase tiers highlights a market that is, at least for the moment, stagnant from an investor acquisition perspective. Existing portfolios remain static, with no new capital being deployed into SFR assets.

This halt in purchasing prevents any analysis of current quarter pricing or buying behavior by tier, as the necessary transaction data is absent. The story of Q1 is one of complete market inactivity from investors.

The ownership structure in Perry County is overwhelmingly dominated by small-scale investors. Mom-and-pop landlords, defined as those owning 1-10 properties (Tiers 01-04), collectively own 99.0% of all investor-held SFRs.

The market's foundation is built on single-property landlords (Tier 01), who alone account for 445 properties, or 77.8% of the investor-owned housing stock. This highlights the highly fragmented and localized nature of rental ownership in the area.

Mid-size landlords (11-1000 properties) have a very small footprint, collectively owning less than 1% of the properties. The small-medium tiers (11-50 properties) consist of just 5 properties combined.

Institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) have a negligible presence, with only one property recorded. This 0.2% market share demonstrates that large-scale corporate ownership is not a factor in Perry County's housing market.

The data confirms that the local rental market is almost exclusively in the hands of small, local investors, challenging narratives of widespread corporate landlord control. The entire investor landscape is composed of individuals and small businesses rather than large institutions.

While individual investors dominate the Perry County market overall, ownership structure shifts decisively as portfolio sizes increase. Individuals account for the vast majority of smaller holdings, owning 94.5% of single-property portfolios (427 properties) and 82.8% of two-property portfolios (48 properties).

The critical crossover point occurs in the 6-10 property tier. At this level, companies take a majority stake, owning 9 properties (52.9%) compared to the 8 properties (47.1%) owned by individuals. This suggests that as investors scale beyond a handful of properties, they tend to adopt a corporate structure for liability and management purposes.

This trend continues in the 21-50 property tier, where companies own 2 of the 3 properties (66.7%), reinforcing the pattern of professionalization at larger scales.

In the small landlord tier (3-5 properties), individuals still hold a strong majority with 36 properties (78.3%), but company ownership (10 properties, 21.7%) is more significant than in the entry-level tiers.

The 11-20 property tier shows an even split, with one property owned by an individual and one by a company, though the small sample size makes it less indicative of a broad trend.

Geographic analysis of Perry County reveals distinct pockets of investor concentration. The zip code 72126 is the leader in sheer volume, with 256 investor-owned SFR properties. It is followed by 72070 with 120 properties and 72016 with 81 properties.

However, the highest market penetration is found in the 72857 zip code, where investors own 42.7% of the housing stock. This rate is nearly double the county-wide average of 22.3%, indicating a particularly high density of rental properties in that area.

The top regions for investor ownership by percentage after 72857 are 72070 (25.5%) and 72126 (23.7%). This shows that high-volume areas do not always correspond to the highest rates of investor penetration, highlighting different market dynamics across the county.

There is a clear distinction between the areas with the most properties (volume) and those with the highest percentage of investor ownership (concentration). This is crucial for understanding local housing markets, as a high concentration rate can have a more significant impact on the rental market and availability for traditional homeowners.

These detailed geographic breakdowns from assessor data can help pinpoint specific neighborhoods where real estate investor activity is most pronounced, providing a granular view of the market landscape.

A full analysis of historical transaction dynamics for Perry County is not possible due to the absence of available data. Key metrics such as buy and sell volumes over time are not reported for this geography.

Consequently, it is not possible to determine whether landlords have historically been net buyers or net sellers. The buy/sell ratio, a critical indicator of market sentiment and investor strategy, cannot be calculated.

Similarly, data on inter-landlord transactions is unavailable. This prevents an assessment of market liquidity, as the percentage of properties traded between investors cannot be measured.

Pricing trends for buy versus sell transactions are also not available. This information would typically be used to estimate implied profit margins and understand how acquisition costs compare to disposition values over time.

The lack of this historical transaction data limits the scope of a long-term trend analysis for investor activity in the county.

The first quarter registered a complete halt in transactional activity among real estate investors in Perry County, with zero properties bought or sold. This resulted in landlords having a 0.0% share of all Q1 property transactions.

The inactivity was consistent across every investor tier. Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04), who form the backbone of the market, conducted zero transactions. Likewise, the institutional tier also recorded no activity.

Given the absence of purchases, there is no data on intra-investor sales. The metric for properties 'Bought From Landlords' is zero, indicating no churn or portfolio trading within the investor community during this period.

Average purchase prices by tier cannot be analyzed, as no properties were acquired. This prevents any comparison of buying strategies between smaller and larger investors for the current quarter.

The complete lack of transactions suggests a 'wait-and-see' approach from investors in the current market, a significant finding that points to either a lack of attractive opportunities or broader economic uncertainty affecting investment decisions.