Montmorency (MI) Investor Pulse Report (2026-Q1)

In Montmorency County, MI, landlords hold a significant 32.5% of the single-family residential market, totaling 2,477 properties out of 7,615.

Individual investors are the overwhelming majority, owning 2,110 properties (85.2%) compared to the 390 properties (15.7%) held by companies. This is also reflected in the entity count, with 2,991 individual landlords versus just 357 company landlords.

The financing profile of these holdings is exceptionally uniform: 100% of the 2,477 investor-owned properties are held as cash assets, with zero properties recorded as financed. This indicates a market dominated by investors with high liquidity who are not reliant on leverage.

The portfolio is almost entirely dedicated to rentals, with 2,456 of the 2,477 properties classified as non-owner-occupied. This deep rental penetration underscores the importance of investors in the local housing supply.

The data points to a market characterized by small, independent, and cash-rich investors rather than large, leveraged institutions, a key distinction for understanding local housing dynamics.

A staggering price disparity exists between what landlords and traditional homeowners pay in Montmorency County. In Q1 2025, landlords paid an average of $90,375, which is 60.5% less than the homeowner average of $228,805, representing a cash discount of $138,430 per property.

This trend became even more pronounced in Q2 2025, where the average landlord price was $105,000 compared to the homeowner price of $480,000. This $375,000 difference marks a 78.1% discount for investors.

Such a massive and consistent price gap suggests that investors are not competing for the same properties as traditional homebuyers. Instead, they are likely targeting distressed assets, properties requiring significant renovation, or different property types altogether, allowing them to acquire assets far below the typical market rate.

Historical data shows price appreciation for landlord purchases, with the average acquisition price climbing from $140,424 during the 2020-2023 period to $174,793 in 2024. The lower average prices seen in early 2025, however, coincide with a sharp drop-off in purchasing volume.

Q4 2025 marked a complete cessation of investor buying activity in Montmorency County. Landlords purchased zero single-family properties, bringing their share of the market's 0 quarterly purchases to 0.0%.

This halt in activity was uniform across all investor sizes. Mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties), who dominate the local market, made zero purchases.

Likewise, mid-size and institutional investors also recorded no acquisitions during the quarter. This lack of activity prevents any analysis of purchasing trends by tier for Q4 2025.

The abrupt stop in acquisitions represents a significant shift from previous periods and signals a potential market-wide pause among real estate investing professionals in the area. This finding is critical when contrasted with the strong net-buying activity observed in prior years.

Ownership in Montmorency County is overwhelmingly concentrated among the smallest investors. Mom-and-pop landlords, defined as those owning 1-10 properties, collectively hold 99.8% of all investor-owned single-family homes.

The market is built on single-property landlords, who alone account for 2,256 properties, an immense 89.3% share of the total investor portfolio. This highlights the deeply fragmented and small-scale nature of rental ownership in the county.

Two-property landlords (Tier 02) hold the next largest share at 5.5% (140 properties), followed by those with 3-5 properties at 3.9% (99 properties). The contribution of larger investors is negligible.

In stark contrast to national headlines, institutional investors with portfolios exceeding 1,000 properties have zero presence in this market, controlling 0.0% of investor-owned homes.

This distribution reveals a market entirely driven by small, local investors, where large-scale corporate ownership is non-existent.

While individual investors dominate the Montmorency County market overall, a clear pattern emerges when analyzing ownership by portfolio size. Individuals own the vast majority of smaller portfolios, holding 1,951 (85.9%) of single-property portfolios and 112 (80.0%) of two-property portfolios.

This trend continues into the 3-5 property tier, where individuals still own a commanding 85.9% of the properties.

However, a significant shift occurs at the 6-10 property tier. Here, companies become the majority owners, holding 23 of the 27 properties in this bracket, an 85.2% share. This tier marks the clear crossover point where investors who scale their operations tend to do so under a corporate structure.

This data suggests a lifecycle for local investors: they often begin as individuals and, upon reaching a certain scale (around 6 properties), are more likely to formalize their holdings within a company.

Investor ownership in Montmorency County is not evenly distributed but is instead highly concentrated in specific zip codes. The 49709 zip code is the epicenter of activity, containing 1,200 investor-owned properties, which represents a 38.1% ownership rate for that area.

Following by count are 49756 with 732 properties (32.2% rate) and 49746 with 464 properties (23.4% rate).

However, for sheer market penetration, the 48619 zip code stands out. In this area, investors own 45.8% of the single-family housing stock, the highest rate in the county.

The top five zip codes by investor ownership rate are all above 23%, indicating deep investor saturation in these key submarkets: 48619 (45.8%), 49709 (38.1%), 49751 (34.8%), 49756 (32.2%), and 49746 (23.4%).

This geographic concentration shows that investors are targeting very specific communities within the county, leading to extremely high ownership rates in localized pockets.

Historical transaction data reveals that landlords in Montmorency County have been in a phase of strong portfolio accumulation. Throughout 2024, investors were significant net buyers, purchasing 78 properties while selling only 4.

This pattern of net acquisition continued into 2025, with records showing 13 buys against just 2 sells for the year. This represents a buy-to-sell ratio of 6.5-to-1, underscoring a clear strategy of growth.

Institutional investors (1000+ tier) have been entirely absent from the transaction market, with zero recorded buys or sells. This reinforces that all historical activity is driven by smaller, mom-and-pop landlords.

This consistent history of net buying provides a critical backdrop to the market's recent behavior. The sudden halt in purchases seen in Q4 2025 is a dramatic deviation from this established, multi-year trend of aggressive portfolio growth.

In Q4 2025, investor transaction activity in Montmorency County came to a standstill. Landlords were involved in 0 of the 0 total SFR transactions, resulting in a 0.0% market share for the quarter.

This inactivity was consistent across all investor sizes. The typically active mom-and-pop tiers (1-10 properties) recorded zero transactions, a significant departure from their historical behavior.

With no properties purchased, it is impossible to analyze pricing strategies by tier for this period. The average purchase price for every tier was $0.

Furthermore, the lack of transactions means there was no inter-landlord trading. The percentage of properties bought from other landlords was 0%, indicating no portfolio churning or sales between investors during this quiet period.

This data from the latest quarter paints a picture of a market on pause, contrasting sharply with the active accumulation seen in prior years.