Daviess (IN) Investor Pulse Report (2026-Q1)

Investors hold a significant 15.4% share of the single-family residential market in Daviess County, totaling 1,309 properties out of 8,524.

The ownership structure is overwhelmingly tilted towards individuals rather than corporations. Individual landlords own 1,061 properties (81.1%), while companies own just 249 (19.0%), underscoring the local, small-scale nature of real estate investing in the area.

A striking financial characteristic of this market is the complete absence of financing on investor-owned properties. All 1,309 SFRs in landlord portfolios are owned outright with cash, indicating a financially liquid and low-leverage investor base.

The portfolio's primary use is clear, with 1,251 of the 1,309 properties identified as rented. This high concentration confirms that the vast majority of investor-owned homes are actively serving as rental housing for the community.

By entity count, individual investors (1,031) outnumber company investors (128) by a ratio of more than 8 to 1. This highlights a highly fragmented market composed of many small operators rather than a few large ones.

Investors in Daviess County demonstrate a consistent ability to acquire properties far below the prices paid by traditional homeowners. In the first quarter of 2026, landlords paid an average of $79,500, which is a staggering $89,677, or 53.0%, less than the homeowner average of $169,177.

The pricing advantage for investors has not been static; it has dramatically increased over the past year. The discount widened from 25.3% ($35,581) in Q1 2025 to its current 53.0% level, suggesting investors are increasingly targeting a different class of properties or capitalizing on off-market opportunities.

Landlord acquisition prices have shown significant volatility, fluctuating from a low of $65,250 in Q4 2024 to a high of $140,667 in Q2 2025, before settling at $79,500 in the most recent quarter. This contrasts with more stable pricing for traditional homeowners.

The long-term price trend shows this volatility, with the 2020-2023 pandemic-era average at $100,823, dropping to $93,161 for 2024 before rising to $140,587 for 2025. This fluctuation indicates a dynamic and opportunistic purchasing strategy among local investors.

In Q4 2025, investors were a significant force in the market, acquiring 4 of the 21 total SFR properties sold, which constitutes a 19.0% market share of purchases.

The entirety of this purchasing activity was driven by small-scale investors. Mom-and-pop landlords, who own between 1 and 10 properties, accounted for 100% of the 4 homes bought by investors.

Institutional investors (1,000+ properties) were completely absent from the acquisitions market in Daviess County this quarter, reinforcing the theme of a locally-dominated investment landscape.

Activity was concentrated at the smallest end of the spectrum. One new landlord entered the market by purchasing their first investment property, while two entities in the 6-10 property tier acquired the other three properties.

This data indicates that market growth is fueled by existing small landlords expanding their portfolios and new entrants taking their first step, rather than large-scale corporate accumulation.

The investor market in Daviess County is defined by the dominance of small landlords. Investors owning 1-10 properties (Tiers 01-04) collectively control 88.5% of all investor-owned single-family homes.

Contrary to narratives about corporate ownership, institutional investors (Tier 09) own zero properties in the county. The largest investors fall into the 'Large' category (101-1000 properties), and they own only 2 properties combined.

The single-property landlord (Tier 01) is the backbone of the rental market, owning 759 properties. This represents 54.8% of the entire investor-owned portfolio, highlighting the fragmented nature of ownership.

Mid-size landlords (11-1000 properties) represent a small fraction of the market, collectively owning just 159 properties, or 11.5% of the total. This further emphasizes that the market scales very little beyond the small landlord category.

The ownership distribution clearly shows that the rental housing supply provided by investors in Daviess County comes from a wide base of local, small-scale operators, not a consolidated group of large firms.

A distinct pattern emerges when examining ownership by entity type across portfolio sizes. Individual investors dominate the smaller tiers, holding 90.9% of single-property portfolios and 78.3% of two-property portfolios.

The crossover point where companies become the majority owners occurs in the 11-20 property tier. In this segment, companies own 47 properties (81.0%), while individuals own just 11 (19.0%), signaling a trend of incorporation as portfolios grow.

Even as portfolios expand, individual ownership remains surprisingly resilient. In the 21-50 property tier, individuals still hold a 67.3% majority, indicating that many landlords continue to operate under their own names even with substantial holdings.

Company ownership is most concentrated in the 11-20 property tier. For the smallest portfolios (1-10 properties), individuals own a combined 1,057 properties compared to just 169 owned by companies.

This structure suggests a natural business lifecycle for investors in Daviess County: starting as an individual and formally incorporating into a company only after achieving a portfolio of more than 10 properties.

Geographic analysis reveals that investor activity in Daviess County is not evenly distributed, but rather highly concentrated. The 47501 zip code is the undisputed epicenter, containing 976 of the 1,309 total investor-owned properties in the county.

This concentration in 47501 is extreme; it holds nearly ten times more investor properties than the second-ranked zip code, 47562, which has 98.

The 47501 zip code also leads in market penetration, with an investor ownership rate of 17.9%. This indicates it is a primary target for rental property acquisition.

While 47501 leads in both count and rate, other zip codes show high penetration with lower volume. For example, 47568 has the second-highest rate at 17.5%, and 47529 has the third-highest at 14.7%, making them pockets of significant investor interest.

The data points to a clear strategy among investors to focus their capital and operations within a specific geographic area, likely to achieve economies of scale in management and acquisitions.

Transaction data shows a clear and sustained trend of portfolio accumulation among landlords in Daviess County. In the first quarter of 2026, they were strong net buyers, with 4 purchases against only 1 sale.

This behavior is not a recent development. In the full year of 2025, investors were also net buyers, adding a net of 14 properties to their portfolios (33 buys vs. 19 sells). The pattern was similar in 2024, which also ended with a net gain of 14 properties (24 buys vs. 10 sells).

This consistent net buying activity signals strong confidence in the local rental market and a long-term strategy of growing rental housing stock.

Institutional investors in the 1,000+ property tier have been effectively inactive. Their only recorded transactions were in 2024, with one purchase and one sale, resulting in a neutral position. They are not a factor in the transactional flow of the market.

The market dynamics are therefore exclusively driven by smaller landlords who are actively expanding their holdings year over year.

In Q1 2026, landlords were involved in 4 of the 23 total single-family transactions in Daviess County, capturing a 17.4% share of market activity.

All transactions were conducted by mom-and-pop investors, with zero activity from institutional firms. One transaction came from a new landlord (Tier 01) and three from a small landlord (Tier 06-10).

A stark pricing difference emerged between these tiers. The new, single-property investor paid $150,000 for their acquisition, while the more established small landlord paid an average of only $56,000 per property. This may reflect differences in property type or condition.

The market shows signs of internal liquidity, where properties are traded between investors. The single-property landlord's purchase came from another landlord, representing 100% of their buying activity from that source.

In contrast, the small landlord acquired their three properties from non-landlord sellers, indicating a strategy focused on sourcing new inventory from the broader market.