Jasper (IL) Investor Pulse Report (2026-Q1)

In Jasper County, investors hold a significant 336 Single-Family Residential (SFR) properties, accounting for 14.3% of the total 2,356 SFRs in the market. This portfolio shows a clear dominance by small, independent operators over corporate entities.

Individual investors own 307 properties, making up 91.4% of the entire investor-owned housing stock, while companies own the remaining 35 properties (10.4%). This 9-to-1 ratio underscores the local, non-corporate nature of the rental market.

A defining characteristic of this market is the preference for all-cash ownership. An overwhelming 330 of the 336 properties are owned free and clear, with only 6 being financed. This indicates a financially stable investor base with very low leverage.

The investor base consists of 377 distinct landlords, of which 353 are individuals and 24 are companies. This further highlights the prevalence of small-scale real estate investing.

The primary use for these properties is providing rental housing, with 320 of the 336 properties (95.2%) identified as rented. This demonstrates a strong focus on generating rental income rather than short-term speculation.

In a surprising turn, landlords in Q1 2026 paid an average price of $125,000, which was 27.9% higher than the $97,750 paid by traditional homeowners. This represents a premium of $27,250 per property and marks a significant departure from historical trends.

This recent premium stands in stark contrast to 2025, when landlords consistently acquired properties at a deep discount. For example, in Q2 2025, investors paid $59,643, a 64.4% discount compared to the homeowner price of $167,522.

The pricing data reveals significant volatility, likely driven by the very small number of transactions in any given quarter. While the long-term trend from 2020-2023 ($64,602) to 2024 ($65,407) shows modest appreciation, quarterly figures can swing dramatically.

The lack of landlord purchases in several recent quarters (Q3 2025) suggests that acquisition activity is sporadic. This makes quarter-over-quarter price trend analysis less reliable than in more active markets.

Overall, while landlords have historically been able to secure properties for less, the Q1 2026 data shows that in a low-volume market, a single transaction can significantly skew the average, temporarily erasing any typical discount.

Investor purchasing activity accounted for 11.8% of the total market in the last quarter, with landlords acquiring 2 of the 17 SFR properties sold in Jasper County. This level of activity is consistent with a market dominated by smaller players.

The acquisition activity was split between the smallest and largest local tiers. Mom-and-pop investors (Tiers 01-04) made up 50% of purchases, represented by one new single-property landlord acquiring their first rental.

The other 50% of activity came from a mid-size landlord in the 51-100 property tier, demonstrating that established local portfolios are also continuing to expand.

Notably, there were zero properties purchased by institutional investors (1,000+ properties), reinforcing their complete absence from this market.

The entry of a new landlord signals continued grassroots interest in owning rental properties in the area, ensuring the market continues to be supplied by small-scale operators.

The ownership structure in Jasper County is unequivocally dominated by small investors. Mom-and-pop landlords, defined as those owning 1-10 properties, control 98.3% of the entire investor-owned SFR portfolio.

Within this group, single-property landlords (Tier 01) form the largest segment, owning 235 properties. This represents 68.5% of all investor-held housing, highlighting the importance of first-time and small-scale landlords to the local rental supply.

The entire portfolio distribution is concentrated at the smallest end of the scale. Landlords with 1-5 properties collectively own 96.2% of the inventory (330 properties).

Conversely, institutional-scale investors with portfolios of 1,000 or more properties have absolutely no footprint in Jasper County, holding 0.0% of the market.

This distribution reveals a market insulated from large-scale corporate ownership, where the rental landscape is shaped almost exclusively by local individuals and small family operations.

Individual investors are the primary owners across almost all portfolio sizes in Jasper County. They own 92.1% of properties in the single-property tier and 93.3% in the two-property tier, demonstrating their control of the entry-level market.

A notable exception occurs in the 6-10 property tier, where companies become the majority owners. In this small bracket of just 7 properties, companies own 6 of them, a share of 85.7%.

However, this corporate dominance is short-lived. In the next tier up (11-20 properties), ownership reverts to being 100% individual, indicating that incorporating is not a standard growth strategy for local landlords.

The data suggests that most landlords in Jasper County operate under their personal name regardless of portfolio size, with only a few choosing a corporate structure for their mid-sized holdings.

This pattern reinforces the market's character as one driven by personal investment rather than formalized, corporate real estate operations.

Geographic analysis reveals that investor ownership is not evenly distributed across Jasper County but is instead focused on specific areas. The zip codes 62448 and 62432 stand out as the primary hubs for rental properties.

The zip code 62448 holds the highest absolute number of investor-owned properties, with 209 homes. This makes it the volume leader for rental inventory in the county.

In contrast, zip code 62432 has the highest density of investor ownership. With 39 investor-owned properties, it has a landlord ownership rate of 27.9%, meaning more than one in every four SFRs in the area is a rental.

This distinction between high volume and high concentration suggests different investment dynamics. One area may be larger with more opportunities, while the other is a smaller, more targeted pocket for rental investment.

Understanding these geographic pockets is crucial for anyone analyzing the local housing market, as investor impact and rental availability are significantly higher in these concentrated zones.

Transaction data over the past several years shows a clear and consistent trend: landlords in Jasper County are in a phase of accumulation. The ratio of properties bought to properties sold is overwhelmingly positive.

During 2025, investors were strong net buyers, with 25 acquisitions compared to only 3 dispositions. This represents a buy-to-sell ratio of more than 8-to-1, signaling a strong appetite for expanding rental portfolios.

This trend was also evident in 2024, which saw 35 properties purchased by investors and only 5 sold. This sustained net buying activity points to long-term confidence in the local market.

The most recent quarterly data from Q3 2025 continues this pattern, with 7 buys and only 1 sell. This indicates the accumulation strategy has remained consistent through different market conditions.

With no institutional activity, this steady growth is driven entirely by local, small-scale investors who are actively increasing their holdings in the community.

In the first quarter of 2026, landlords represented 9.1% of all transaction activity, participating in 2 of the 22 total SFR sales in Jasper County. This reflects a modest but steady investor presence in the market.

The buying activity was distributed across the local investor spectrum. One transaction came from a brand new, single-property landlord, while the other was made by an established landlord in the 51-100 property tier.

The new landlord's purchase at $125,000 was a key driver of the high average acquisition price observed for investors during the quarter. In low-volume markets, single transactions can significantly influence quarterly statistics.

Notably, 0% of landlord purchases were sourced from other landlords. This indicates that investors are acquiring their properties from the general public, such as traditional homeowners, rather than trading properties among themselves.

The complete absence of institutional transactions further confirms that market activity is exclusively driven by local and regional investors.