Franklin (KS) Investor Pulse Report (2026-Q1)

Investors hold a significant footprint in Franklin County, owning 1,583 single-family residential properties, which constitutes 22.7% of the county's total SFR inventory of 6,964 homes.

The market is dominated by individual investors, who own 1,192 properties, accounting for 75.3% of the investor-owned portfolio. Company-owned properties lag significantly, with 424 homes representing the remaining 26.8%.

A critical characteristic of this market is its complete reliance on cash financing. All 1,583 investor-owned properties were acquired with cash, with zero properties recorded as having mortgage financing, signaling a well-capitalized investor base that is not leveraged.

The number of individual landlords (1,362) far surpasses the number of company landlords (195). This shows that the market is composed of a large number of small-scale operators rather than a few large corporate entities.

The portfolio is heavily geared towards rental income, with 1,512 of the 1,583 properties classified as rented. This demonstrates a clear strategy among local investors to generate long-term cash flow from their real estate assets.

A direct comparison of acquisition prices between landlords and traditional homeowners for the current quarter is not possible due to a complete lack of purchase transactions recorded for either group in Franklin County.

The absence of recent sales activity prevents the analysis of any price gap trends. Without new data points, it is impossible to determine if a landlord discount exists or how it might be changing over time.

Historical pricing data is sparse and contradictory. While the 2020-2023 timeframe lists an average acquisition price of $131,299, it is tied to zero property purchases, suggesting either a data collection issue or an extremely inactive market during that period as well.

Due to the lack of transactions, it is not feasible to analyze price differences between individual and company landlords. This highlights a significant data gap in understanding the purchasing behavior of different investor types in this geography.

The current market conditions reflect a pause in sales velocity, making assessments of price appreciation from the pandemic-era to the present speculative. No concrete data supports a trend in either direction.

Landlord purchasing activity in Franklin County was nonexistent in the fourth quarter of 2025, with zero properties acquired. This reflects a broader market halt, as the total number of SFR purchases from any buyer type was also zero.

Given the complete lack of transactions, landlords' share of the market was 0%. This indicates a period of extreme illiquidity or a potential lag in transaction reporting for the region.

Activity was uniformly zero across all investor tiers. Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) and institutional investors (Tier 09) both recorded no purchases, indicating the market slowdown was not isolated to a specific investor size.

The pipeline of new investors appears frozen, with zero new single-property landlords (Tier 01) entering the Franklin County market during the quarter. This lack of new entrants suggests low confidence or opportunity in the current market.

The data points to a market in hibernation, with no buying pressure from the real estate investing community. This contrasts sharply with the significant existing investor ownership in the county.

The investor landscape in Franklin County is overwhelmingly dominated by small-scale operators. Mom-and-pop landlords, defined as those owning 1-10 properties, collectively hold 85.4% of all investor-owned SFRs.

First-time or single-property landlords are the bedrock of this market, with the Tier 01 segment alone accounting for 900 properties, or 55.0% of the total investor portfolio. This highlights the decentralized nature of rental ownership in the county.

Institutional ownership is virtually nonexistent. The Tier 09 cohort (1,000+ properties) holds just a single property, making up only 0.1% of the investor market and challenging any narrative of large-scale corporate dominance.

Mid-size landlords (11-100 properties) represent a smaller but notable segment, controlling a combined 14.6% of the investor-owned housing stock across three tiers.

Analysis of acquisition prices by tier is not possible due to the lack of recent transaction data. It is therefore unclear whether larger investors pay more or less than their smaller counterparts in this specific market.

Individual investors form the foundation of the Franklin County rental market, particularly in smaller portfolio sizes. They own 88.5% of all single-property rentals (801 properties) and over 70% of properties in the 2 and 3-5 property tiers.

The transition point for ownership structure occurs in the small-medium category. In the 11-20 property tier, company ownership rises to 49.0% (96 properties), nearly matching the 51.0% held by individuals (100 properties).

Even as portfolio sizes increase, individual ownership remains resilient. In the 6-10 property tier, individuals still hold a majority share at 58.7% (88 properties) compared to 41.3% for companies (62 properties).

This data illustrates a clear pattern: individuals are the primary drivers of the rental market up to the 10-property mark, after which corporate structures become a far more common vehicle for holding real estate assets.

Due to the absence of recent sales, it's impossible to compare acquisition prices or growth patterns between individual and company investors within these tiers.

Investor ownership is highly concentrated geographically within Franklin County. The zip code 66067 is the clear leader by volume, containing 1,003 investor-owned SFRs, which represents 21.4% of its housing stock.

In terms of market penetration, the 66080 zip code has the highest rate of investor ownership at 37.9%. This indicates that more than one in every three SFRs in this area is owned by an investor.

Other areas with significant investor saturation include the 66042 and 66095 zip codes, with high ownership rates of 29.5% and 29.0%, respectively. These regions are clear targets for rental property acquisition.

The top regions for investor-owned property counts are 66067 (1,003 properties), 66092 (259 properties), and 66076 (80 properties). These three zip codes collectively house the majority of the county's investor portfolio.

There is a distinction between areas with high investor counts and high investor rates. While 66067 leads in volume, smaller zip codes like 66080 exhibit a much denser concentration of investment, revealing different market dynamics across the county.

A comprehensive analysis of historical transaction trends for landlords in Franklin County cannot be performed due to the absence of available data. It is not possible to determine buy versus sell volumes over time.

The net position of landlords, whether they are accumulating or divesting properties, remains unknown. Calculating a buy/sell ratio to gauge market direction is unfeasible with the current dataset.

Similarly, institutional investor (1000+ tier) transaction patterns cannot be assessed. Their role as net buyers or sellers in this market is completely opaque based on the provided information.

The degree of market liquidity driven by inter-landlord trading is also a critical unknown. The percentage of transactions where properties are sold from one landlord to another cannot be calculated, which limits insights into portfolio churning.

Without transaction data, comparing average buy and sell prices to understand potential profit margins or market health is not possible. This highlights a significant gap in the overall market picture for Franklin County.

The final quarter of 2025 was marked by a complete freeze in market activity, with zero transactions involving landlords recorded in Franklin County. This resulted in a 0.0% share of market transactions for investors.

The inactivity was universal across all investor sizes. Transaction volumes were zero for every tier, from single-property owners to the largest institutional players, indicating a market-wide pause rather than a segment-specific trend.

An analysis of purchase price by tier is not possible, as no properties were bought or sold. This prevents any insight into the purchasing strategies or pricing power of different investor classes in the current climate.

Inter-landlord trading activity was also at a standstill. The data shows zero properties were bought from other landlords, suggesting that even internal market churn has ceased for the time being.

The transactional silence in Q4 stands in stark contrast to the substantial existing investor holdings in the county. This suggests that while investors have a major long-term presence, the short-term market for buying and selling is completely illiquid.