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

In Pope County, IL, investors own 493 single-family residential properties, representing a significant 25.0% of the total 1,975 SFRs in the market.

The market is overwhelmingly dominated by individual investors, who own 455 properties, or 92.3% of the investor-owned housing stock. In contrast, companies own just 40 properties, making up the remaining 8.1%.

A defining feature of this market is its complete lack of leverage. All 493 investor-owned homes were acquired with cash, with zero properties currently financed, signaling a highly stable, risk-averse investor base.

The rental focus is clear, with 486 properties identified as rented, underscoring the primary strategy of these landlords. This aligns with the non-owner-occupied status of the portfolio.

The entity count further reveals the market's granular nature, with 623 total landlords (584 individuals and 39 companies) holding the 493 properties. This suggests a high prevalence of co-ownership arrangements among local investors.

Recent acquisition pricing analysis for Pope County is hampered by a complete lack of landlord purchasing activity over the last four quarters (Q4 2024 through Q3 2025).

Historical data from prior quarters reveals extreme price volatility due to very low transaction volumes. For example, in 2025-Q1, landlords paid an average of $139,500, a staggering 148.8% premium over the traditional homeowner price of $56,063.

This trend immediately reversed in the following quarter, 2025-Q2, where landlords paid $128,658, representing a 24.8% discount compared to the homeowner average of $171,050. This demonstrates that in a low-volume market, individual transactions can heavily skew quarterly averages.

The most recent recorded activity in 2025-Q3 continued this pattern of volatility, with an average landlord price of $405,636 versus the homeowner price of $118,600, a 242.0% premium.

The absence of consistent discounts or premiums suggests that there is no predictable pricing advantage for investors in this market; outcomes are highly dependent on the specifics of each rare transaction.

Landlord acquisition activity in Pope County came to a complete halt in Q4 2025, with investors accounting for zero of the total SFR purchases in the market.

This lack of activity was universal across all investor sizes. Mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties) made up 0.0% of investor purchases, reflecting the broader market freeze.

Similarly, institutional investors (1,000+ properties) also recorded zero purchases, though their presence in this market is nonexistent to begin with.

The data indicates no new landlords entered the market in Q4, as the single-property (Tier 01) category saw no new acquisitions.

This total absence of purchasing highlights a potential lack of inventory, a lack of buyer interest at current prices, or simply the illiquid nature of this small, rural market during the quarter.

The investor landscape in Pope County is the epitome of a mom-and-pop market, with landlords owning 1-10 properties controlling 99.8% of all investor-held SFRs.

Ownership is heavily concentrated at the smallest scale. Single-property landlords (Tier 01) alone own 430 properties, which constitutes a remarkable 85.0% of the entire investor portfolio.

The next largest tiers are two-property owners with 40 properties (7.9%) and small landlords with 3-5 properties holding 35 homes (6.9%). This structure underscores a market built on small-scale, local real estate investing.

There is absolutely no institutional investor presence in Pope County. Tier 09 (1,000+ properties) holds zero properties, accounting for 0.0% of the market.

This distribution reveals a market completely insulated from large corporate investment, where the rental housing stock is provided exclusively by small-scale, local individuals and families.

Individual landlords are the primary owners across every investor tier in Pope County, with no crossover point where companies become the majority.

In the largest segment, single-property (Tier 01) landlords, individuals own 404 properties (93.5%) while companies own just 28 (6.5%).

This trend continues in the two-property tier, where individuals hold 32 properties (80.0%) versus 8 for companies (20.0%).

Even in the small landlord tier (3-5 properties), individual ownership remains overwhelming at 32 properties (91.4%), with companies holding only 3 (8.6%).

This data confirms that company ownership is a fringe activity in Pope County's rental market, which is fundamentally driven by private individuals at every scale of investment.

Geographic analysis reveals that investor ownership in Pope County is highly concentrated in a few key areas. The zip code 62938 is the epicenter of activity by volume, containing 320 investor-owned SFRs.

This single zip code, 62938, has an investor ownership rate of 26.8%, making it a significant hub for rental properties within the county.

However, the highest rate of investor ownership is found in zip code 62943, where investors own 29.2% of the SFR housing stock. This highlights the difference between volume and market saturation.

Other areas with high investor penetration include 62972 and -62947, both with a 27.5% ownership rate, and 62960 at 25.0%.

The concentration of rental properties in these specific zip codes suggests targeted investment patterns, likely driven by local demand, proximity to amenities, or housing affordability in those sub-markets.

A lack of sufficient historical transaction data for Pope County makes it impossible to determine whether landlords are net buyers or net sellers over time.

There is no available information to calculate a buy/sell ratio, which would typically indicate market direction and investor sentiment.

Analysis of inter-landlord transactions, or the percentage of properties bought from other landlords, cannot be performed. This data is crucial for understanding market liquidity and the flow of assets between investors.

Similarly, a comparison of average buy prices versus sell prices to gauge potential profit margins is not possible with the current dataset.

The absence of this data is itself an insight, pointing to an extremely illiquid and stable market where properties are held for the long term with very infrequent turnover.

In Q4 2025, the investor transaction market in Pope County was completely inactive, with landlords involved in 0.0% of the 0 total SFR transactions recorded.

Transaction volumes were zero across all investor tiers. Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) conducted no transactions during the quarter.

Consequently, it is not possible to compare average purchase prices between different investor sizes, as no purchases occurred.

Data on inter-landlord trading is also unavailable due to the lack of activity. There were no instances of investors buying properties from other landlords.

The standstill in Q4 transactions reinforces the picture of a highly stable, buy-and-hold market where assets rarely change hands, particularly during this period.