Worth (IA) Investor Pulse Report (2026-Q1)

In Worth County, investors hold 282 single-family residential properties, which constitutes 11.5% of the total 2,461 SFRs in the market. This highlights a significant, yet not dominant, investor presence in the local housing landscape.

Ownership is heavily skewed towards individuals over corporations. Individual landlords own 236 properties, making up 83.7% of the investor portfolio, while company-owned properties number just 57, or 20.2%.

A defining characteristic of the Worth County investor market is the preference for cash purchases. There are 223 cash-owned properties compared to only 59 that are financed, a ratio of 3.8 to 1. This suggests that many local investors are not reliant on leverage to build their portfolios.

The portfolio is clearly focused on generating rental income. A total of 271 properties are identified as rented, accounting for 96.1% of all investor-owned SFRs. This indicates that the primary strategy for the vast majority of local landlords is long-term holding for rental revenue.

The market structure is composed of 340 distinct landlord entities, with 293 being individuals and 47 being companies. The higher number of entities compared to properties underscores the prevalence of single-property landlords in the county.

Acquisition pricing for landlords in Worth County is highly variable, a common trait in markets with low transaction volumes. In Q3 2025, landlords paid an average of $74,143, a staggering 58.5% less than traditional homeowners who paid $178,768. This represents a discount of $104,625 per property.

This pricing advantage was not consistent across recent quarters. In Q2 2025, the trend reversed, with landlords paying a 9.5% premium, or $15,804 more than homeowners ($182,400 vs. $166,596). This volatility suggests that individual transactions, rather than broad market trends, heavily influence quarterly averages.

Looking at the broader trend, average acquisition prices for investors have declined significantly from a high of $182,400 in Q2 2025 to $74,143 in Q3 2025. This fluctuation highlights the challenge of identifying stable price points in a thinly traded market.

Critically, the data indicates a complete halt in landlord purchasing activity. Landlords acquired zero properties in 2024 and in each of the first three quarters of 2025 according to this dataset. The reported average prices for these periods are based on extremely limited or potentially historical data points and should be interpreted with caution.

Landlord acquisition activity in Worth County was non-existent in the fourth quarter of 2025. Of the 10 total SFR properties sold in the market during this period, none were purchased by investors, resulting in a 0% market share.

This halt in activity was universal across all investor sizes. Mom-and-pop landlords, who represent the vast majority of owners in the county, made zero purchases. Likewise, there was no activity from mid-size or institutional investors.

The lack of new acquisitions means there were no new landlords entering the Worth County market in Q4 2025. This contrasts with historical data showing a steady, if small, flow of new investors buying their first rental property.

This period of inactivity stands out, especially when viewed against transaction data from earlier in the year which showed consistent net buying from landlords. The Q4 pause could signal a shift in local investor sentiment or a lack of desirable inventory meeting their criteria.

The complete absence of investor purchases suggests that 100% of Q4 2025 home sales went to other buyer types, such as traditional homeowners, reinforcing that the quarter's market was driven entirely by non-investor demand.

The investor landscape in Worth County is defined by small, local operators. Mom-and-pop landlords (owning 1-10 properties) control a commanding 96.2% of all investor-owned single-family homes, demonstrating a highly fragmented market structure.

First-time or single-property landlords are the bedrock of this market. Investors in Tier 01 (1 property) own 205 homes, which represents 70.9% of the entire investor-owned portfolio. This highlights the importance of small-scale real estate investing in the community.

Mid-size landlords hold a minimal footprint. Those owning 11-50 properties control just 3.5% of the market combined (10 properties). This sharp drop-off after the 10-property tier further illustrates the lack of portfolio consolidation in the area.

There is no evidence of institutional-scale investment in Worth County. The largest ownership tier present holds just a single property, and Tier 09 (1,000+ properties) has a 0.0% share, meaning large corporate landlords are not a factor in this local market.

The distribution is heavily front-loaded: landlords owning 1-5 properties (Tiers 01-03) collectively own 88.9% of all investor-held SFRs, cementing the market's reliance on the smallest-scale investors.

Ownership structure in Worth County clearly shifts as portfolio sizes increase. While individual investors form the backbone of the market, companies become the preferred entity for larger holdings. The crossover point occurs at the 11-20 property tier, where companies own 5 out of 6 properties (83.3%).

For mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties), individual ownership is the standard. Individuals own 86.9% of single-property portfolios and maintain a majority through the 6-10 property tier (66.7%). This indicates that most smaller investors operate without a formal corporate structure.

The highest concentration of company ownership is found in the 11-20 property tier. This suggests that as local investors scale beyond 10 properties, they are more likely to incorporate for liability protection and operational efficiency.

An interesting outlier exists in the market: the single property listed in the 'Large' (101-1000) tier is owned by an individual, not a company. This is unusual for a portfolio of that size and represents a significant holding for a single person.

Across all tiers, individual investors own a total of 236 properties compared to 57 for companies, reinforcing the overall dominance of personal ownership in Worth County's rental market.

Investor ownership in Worth County is not evenly distributed, with specific zip codes showing higher concentrations. The 50459 zip code, which includes Northwood, is the hub for investor activity, containing 88 investor-owned properties, though this only represents 8.9% of its housing stock.

The highest rate of investor ownership is found in smaller, surrounding zip codes. The 50440 zip code (Grafton) leads with a 17.1% investor ownership rate, followed closely by 50448 (Joice) at 16.0% and 50446 (Kensett) at 15.5%. This indicates a deeper market penetration in these specific communities.

There is a clear distinction between the areas with the highest raw count of investor properties and those with the highest percentage. Northwood (50459) has the volume, but smaller towns like Grafton have a proportionally larger share of their homes owned by investors.

The top five zip codes by investor-owned count are 50459 (88), 50448 (34), 50440 (26), 50446 (25), and 50444 (25). Together, these areas account for a significant majority of the investor activity in the county.

Analyzing these geographic pockets is crucial for understanding local market dynamics, as investor strategies may differ between the higher-volume areas and the higher-penetration communities.

Historically, landlords in Worth County have been in a strong accumulation phase. In 2025, they were aggressive net buyers, acquiring 22 properties while selling only 3, a buy-to-sell ratio of 7.33. This indicates a strong appetite for expanding rental portfolios.

The net buying behavior was also evident in the preceding year. In 2024, landlords purchased 27 homes and sold 9, resulting in a net gain of 18 properties and a buy-to-sell ratio of 3.0. This pattern shows sustained growth in investor holdings over the last two years.

Recent quarterly data confirms this trend. In Q3 2025, investors bought 8 properties and sold 2 (a 4x ratio), and in Q2 2025, they bought 10 and sold only 1 (a 10x ratio). This demonstrates consistent acquisition momentum leading up to the end of the year.

All transaction activity is attributable to individual and small company landlords. With a 0.0% ownership share, institutional investors (1,000+ properties) recorded no buy or sell transactions in any observed timeframe.

This consistent history of net accumulation makes the halt in purchasing seen in other datasets for Q4 2025 particularly noteworthy, suggesting a potential turning point or temporary pause in local investor strategy.

In the final quarter of 2025, the investor market in Worth County went dormant. Landlords were involved in zero of the 11 single-family home transactions that occurred, marking their share of market activity at 0%.

The purchasing pause affected investors of all sizes. Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04), who are typically the most active, recorded no transactions. Similarly, the county's few mid-size investors also remained on the sidelines.

Consequently, there was no inter-landlord trading during the quarter. The metric for properties 'Bought From Landlords' was zero across all tiers, indicating a complete lack of liquidity within the existing investor pool.

This absence of activity means there were no new pricing benchmarks set by investors in Q4. Average purchase prices for all tiers were effectively $0, highlighting the complete shutdown in acquisitions.

The data points to a market where all Q4 2025 activity was driven by non-investors, such as traditional homeowners. This abrupt stop contrasts with the consistent net-buying behavior observed in previous quarters and years.