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

In Montgomery County, KS, investors own 3,610 Single-Family Residential (SFR) properties, which constitutes a significant 33.3% of the total 10,850 SFRs in the market. This high penetration rate highlights the importance of real estate investing in the local housing landscape.

The ownership structure is heavily skewed towards individuals over corporations. Individual investors own 2,920 properties, accounting for 80.9% of the investor portfolio, while companies own the remaining 715 properties (19.8%).

A defining characteristic of this market is the preference for all-cash holdings. A remarkable 3,532 properties (97.8%) are owned outright without financing, compared to only 78 financed properties. This suggests a market of investors with high equity and low leverage, potentially seeking stable cash flow over leveraged growth.

The investor base itself reflects this individual-centric dynamic. There are 3,339 individual landlords compared to just 330 company landlords, a ratio of more than 10 to 1. This reinforces the narrative of a market driven by local, small-scale participants rather than large-scale corporate entities.

The portfolio's primary use is clear, with 3,528 properties designated as rented. This near-total focus on rental activity underscores the role of these investors as key suppliers of housing for the local rental market.

The Montgomery County real estate market has experienced a period of extremely low liquidity, with no recorded SFR acquisitions by either landlords or traditional homeowners in 2025-Q1, Q2, or Q3. This absence of recent sales data makes it impossible to conduct a current price comparison or analyze any recent trends in the price gap between investor and homeowner purchases.

The most recent benchmark for investor acquisition costs dates back to the 2020-2023 period. During that time, the average acquisition price for landlords was $61,705. However, with no sales recorded in 2024 or 2025 to date, this historical figure offers no insight into current market valuations.

The complete halt in transactions across all buyer types for three consecutive quarters is the most significant finding. It points to a market that is either illiquid, experiencing a data reporting lag, or undergoing a significant structural shift where properties are not being transacted on the open market.

This lack of activity prevents any analysis of price appreciation or depreciation from the pandemic-era boom. The market's price trajectory remains unknown until transactional activity resumes.

In Q4 2025, the investor purchase market in Montgomery County was entirely dormant. Landlords acquired zero properties, mirroring the overall market which also saw zero total SFR purchases. This resulted in a 0.0% market share for investors for the quarter.

The lack of activity was universal across all investor sizes. Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04), who represent the vast majority of owners in the county, made no new acquisitions. Similarly, institutional investors (Tier 09) also recorded zero purchases.

A direct consequence of this inactivity is the lack of new entrants into the rental market. The number of new single-property landlords (Tier 01), a key indicator of market growth and sentiment, was zero for the quarter.

This complete cessation of purchasing activity across the board points to severe illiquidity or a potential data gap. It represents a dramatic shift from any previous period of activity and is the defining characteristic of the market's current state.

The investor landscape in Montgomery County is unequivocally dominated by small-scale operators. Mom-and-pop landlords, defined as those owning 1-10 properties, control a combined 92.1% of all investor-owned SFRs. This concentration underscores a highly fragmented market composed of many small participants.

The single-property landlord tier is the bedrock of the market, alone accounting for 2,231 properties, or 58.8% of the entire investor portfolio. This large base of first-time or single-investment landlords signifies a low barrier to entry for property ownership in the area.

In stark contrast, institutional investors (1,000+ properties) have virtually no footprint in the county. Their entire portfolio consists of a single property, representing a 0.0% market share. This directly counters the narrative of large-scale corporate consolidation in this specific market.

Mid-size landlords also hold a relatively small portion of the market. Investors with 11-100 properties (Tiers 05-07) collectively own 294 properties, which is just 7.8% of the total investor-owned stock.

This tier distribution, with its immense concentration at the smallest end of the spectrum, paints a picture of a classic 'Main Street' rental market rather than a 'Wall Street' dominated one. The available assessor data confirms a granular ownership pattern spread across thousands of individual operators.

While individual investors dominate the Montgomery County market overall, a clear pattern emerges when analyzing ownership by portfolio size. Individuals control the vast majority of smaller portfolios, holding 90.9% of single-property assets and 87.8% of two-property portfolios.

The balance of power shifts dramatically as investors scale up. The crossover point occurs in the 11-20 property tier, where companies take majority control, owning 160 properties (74.4%) compared to just 55 (25.6%) for individuals.

This trend continues into the next tier (21-50 properties), where companies maintain a strong majority with 67.5% ownership. This indicates that as investors grow their portfolios beyond 10 properties, they are significantly more likely to operate under a corporate structure for liability, financing, or operational reasons.

Even in tiers where individuals are the majority, such as the 6-10 property bracket, company presence is notable at 36.1%. This suggests that incorporating is a strategic consideration for landlords well before they reach mid-size status.

Due to the lack of recent transaction data, it is not possible to determine if there are pricing differences between individual and company buyers within these tiers. The ownership structure, however, clearly shows a strategic shift to corporate entities as portfolio complexity increases.

Investor activity in Montgomery County is highly concentrated geographically. The zip code 67337 (Coffeyville) is the epicenter of investor ownership, with 1,469 landlord-owned SFRs, representing 35.0% of that area's housing stock and 40.7% of all investor properties in the county.

The next largest concentration is in 67301 (Independence), with 1,250 investor-owned properties at a 29.3% rate. Together with 67333 (Caney) at 294 properties, these top three zip codes account for 3,013 properties, or a massive 83.5% of the entire investor portfolio in the county.

While larger zip codes dominate by volume, an analysis of ownership percentage reveals pockets of even more intense investor saturation. The 67355 (Dearing) area is 100.0% investor-owned, and 67363 (Tyro) has an 84.0% investor ownership rate. These extremely high rates in smaller communities suggest they function primarily as rental markets.

The data clearly distinguishes between areas with the highest absolute number of investor properties and those with the highest penetration rate. For investors looking for scale, 67337 and 67301 are the core markets. For those analyzing market saturation, the smaller zip codes like 67355 and 67363 present a different picture of near-total rental housing.

A comprehensive analysis of historical transaction dynamics for Montgomery County is not possible due to the absence of available data. There are no recorded buy or sell transactions for the 'All Time', annual, or recent quarterly timeframes.

This data gap prevents any calculation of a buy/sell ratio, making it impossible to determine whether landlords have historically been net buyers or net sellers in the market. The overall velocity and liquidity of the investor market over time remain unknown.

Similarly, there is no information on inter-landlord trading. It is not possible to quantify what percentage of landlord purchases came from other landlords or what percentage of their sales went to other investors, which are key metrics for understanding market maturity and fluidity.

For institutional investors (1000+ tier), the lack of data is consistent. Their historical acquisition and disposition patterns cannot be analyzed, leaving their long-term strategy in the region unclear.

Without this transactional history, key insights into market trends, profit margins (implied by the spread between buy and sell prices), and shifts in investor sentiment cannot be generated. The primary finding is the opacity of historical market activity.

The transaction market for real estate investors in Montgomery County was completely inactive in Q4 2025. Landlords were involved in zero transactions, accounting for 0.0% of the total 0 market transactions during the period.

This inactivity was consistent across every investor tier. Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04), who own over 92% of the county's rental stock, did not buy or sell any properties. The same was true for mid-size and institutional investors.

As a result of zero purchases, the average purchase price for every investor tier was $0. This lack of pricing data from recent transactions makes it impossible to assess current valuation strategies or compare what different-sized investors are willing to pay.

Furthermore, there was no evidence of inter-landlord trading. The percentage of properties bought from other landlords was 0% for all tiers, indicating a complete lack of portfolio churning or asset repositioning among existing owners.

The primary conclusion from the Q4 2025 transaction data is the profound lack of market activity. This suggests that investors are in a holding pattern, with neither acquisition nor disposition being a priority in the current climate.