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

In Stafford County, landlords hold a significant 34.1% of the Single-Family Residential (SFR) market, totaling 488 properties out of 1,432 available.

Ownership is heavily skewed towards individuals over corporations. Individual investors own 418 properties, commanding an 85.7% share of the investor-owned market, while companies hold the remaining 73 properties (15.0%).

The investor landscape is composed of 557 distinct landlord entities, with 501 being individuals and just 56 classified as companies. This 9-to-1 ratio underscores the dominance of small-scale, personal real estate investing in the region.

A striking financial characteristic of this market is the complete absence of leverage among investors. All 488 investor-owned properties are held free and clear, with zero properties reported as financed.

The portfolio is clearly focused on generating rental income, with 474 of the 488 properties identified as rented, confirming the primary strategy for investors in this county is long-term holds for cash flow.

Analysis of acquisition pricing in Stafford County is constrained by a complete lack of recent market activity. There were no SFR property purchases recorded for either landlords or traditional homeowners in Q1 2026.

Due to the zero-transaction environment, it is not possible to calculate an average acquisition price or determine if a price gap exists between investor and homeowner purchases for the current quarter.

This lack of activity is not a new phenomenon. Historical data for the 2020-2023 period also indicates zero distinct properties were purchased by landlords, suggesting that the local SFR market is characterized by very low liquidity and infrequent turnover.

Without transactional data, trends in price appreciation or shifts in the landlord discount cannot be established. The market appears to be one of long-term holds rather than frequent acquisitions.

The absence of sales prevents any comparison between individual and company investor pricing strategies, as neither group was active in the market during the observed timeframes.

The first quarter of 2026 was marked by a standstill in the Stafford County real estate market, with a total of zero SFR purchases recorded. Consequently, landlords acquired zero properties, representing 0.0% of market activity.

This market freeze meant no new investors entered the market. The count of new single-property landlords (Tier 01), often a barometer for new market entrants, was zero.

Activity was nonexistent across all investor sizes. Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) and institutional investors (Tier 09) both recorded zero purchases, reflecting the market-wide lack of liquidity.

The complete absence of transactions provides a clear picture of a dormant market where properties are not changing hands, at least not through publicly recorded sales.

This lack of purchasing activity indicates that the current ownership structure is static, with no shifts in portfolio sizes or distribution among tiers occurring during the first quarter.

The investor landscape in Stafford County is overwhelmingly dominated by small-scale operators. Mom-and-pop landlords, owning between 1 and 10 properties, collectively control 96.4% of all investor-owned SFRs.

The most granular tier, single-property landlords, forms the bedrock of the market. This group owns 345 properties, which constitutes a remarkable 68.9% of the entire investor portfolio.

Mid-size landlords (11-1,000 properties) hold a minor stake in the market, collectively owning 17 properties or just 3.4% of the total investor portfolio.

Institutional-scale investment is virtually nonexistent. Investors in the 1,000+ property tier own a combined total of 1 property, representing only 0.2% of investor-owned housing in the county.

This distribution highlights a market structure that is highly decentralized and reliant on small, local investors rather than large, consolidated portfolios. Due to the lack of transactions, it is not possible to analyze acquisition price differences between these tiers.

Individual investors form the foundation of ownership in Stafford County, particularly in smaller portfolio tiers. They own 89.0% of single-property portfolios and 83.9% of two-property portfolios.

A significant shift in ownership structure occurs in the 6-10 property tier (Tier 04). At this level, companies become the majority owners for the first time, holding 10 properties for a 52.6% share, compared to individuals who hold 9 properties (47.4%).

Even in the mid-size tiers, individuals maintain a strong presence. For portfolios of 11-20 properties, ownership is split evenly at 50.0% each, and for the 21-50 property tier, individuals still hold a 60.0% majority.

This pattern suggests that while individuals dominate the entry-level and smaller portfolios, investors looking to scale beyond five properties are more likely to operate under a company structure.

Due to the complete lack of sales transactions in recent periods, a comparative analysis of acquisition prices between individual and company investors cannot be performed.

Investor ownership in Stafford County is highly concentrated geographically. The top two zip codes by property count, 67578 (St. John) and 67557 (Macksville), contain 175 and 106 investor-owned properties, respectively.

Certain zip codes exhibit extremely high investor penetration rates. In 67557 (Macksville), investors own a majority 55.8% of all SFR properties. This is followed by 67530 (Hudson) at 46.7% and 67567 (Radium) and 67550 (Hudson) at 33.3% and 36.8%, indicating these are primarily rental markets.

The zip code 67526 (Byers) shows no investor-owned properties in the available assessor data, marking it as a pocket of primarily owner-occupied housing.

The top five zip codes by investor-owned count collectively hold 414 properties, representing 84.8% of the total investor portfolio in the county. This demonstrates that investor focus is not evenly distributed but targeted to specific communities.

Analysis of acquisition prices across these regions is not possible, as there was no purchasing activity in the recent timeframes covered by this report.

A comprehensive analysis of historical transaction dynamics in Stafford County is not possible due to the absence of available data. There are no records of buy or sell transactions for landlords across any of the observed timeframes (All Time, 2025, 2024, 2020-2023).

Consequently, it is impossible to determine whether landlords have been net buyers or net sellers. Key metrics like the buy-to-sell ratio cannot be calculated to gauge market sentiment or direction.

The level of inter-landlord trading activity remains unknown. Without transaction records, the percentage of properties bought from or sold to other landlords cannot be measured, leaving market liquidity among investors undetermined.

Similarly, transaction trends for institutional investors (1000+ tier) cannot be assessed. Their historical buying or selling patterns, which often signal broader market shifts, are not reflected in the data.

Price analysis, such as comparing average buy prices to average sell prices to infer potential margins, is also precluded by the lack of historical sales information.

The first quarter of 2026 saw a complete halt in transactional activity in Stafford County's SFR market. A total of zero transactions were recorded, meaning landlords had a 0.0% share of a non-existent market.

This inactivity was uniform across all investor sizes. Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) and institutional investors (Tier 09) both recorded zero transactions during the quarter.

With no purchases taking place, analysis of buying strategies is impossible. Average purchase prices for any tier were effectively $0, and there is no data to compare the pricing behavior of smaller versus larger investors.

Inter-landlord trading, a key indicator of market churn and portfolio repositioning, was also at a standstill. The percentage of properties bought from other landlords was 0%, as no acquisitions occurred.

The Q1 data paints a picture of a completely illiquid market, where assets are being held and not traded, suggesting a current investor focus on stable, long-term rental income over capital gains from sales.