Fillmore (MN) Investor Pulse Report (2026-Q1)

In Fillmore County, investors hold a portfolio of 930 Single-Family Residential (SFR) properties, accounting for 11.1% of the total 8,375 SFRs in the market.

Ownership is overwhelmingly dominated by 943 individual investors, who control 750 properties, or 80.6% of the investor-owned inventory. In contrast, 166 company investors own the remaining 187 properties (20.1%), highlighting the market's reliance on small-scale real estate investing.

The investor portfolio is heavily geared towards rental income, with 897 properties classified as rented. This represents 96.5% of all investor-owned homes, signaling a clear strategy of buy-and-hold for cash flow rather than short-term speculation.

A significant financial pattern emerges from the data: 759 properties (81.6% of the portfolio) are owned outright with cash. This compares to just 171 properties (18.4%) that are financed, suggesting that investors in this market are well-capitalized and less reliant on leverage.

The structure of the landlord base, with 943 individuals compared to 166 companies, reinforces the 'mom-and-pop' character of the Fillmore County rental market. This distribution is a key finding from the property ownership by owner type report.

Investors in Fillmore County demonstrated a significant pricing advantage in the first quarter of 2026, acquiring properties for an average of $138,034. This was 49.8% less than the $274,937 average paid by traditional homeowners, representing a substantial discount of $136,903 per property.

However, this discount has not been consistent over the past year, showing extreme volatility. In Q3 2025, landlords also secured a large discount of 41.9% ($110,927), but this was preceded by a surprising Q2 2025 where they paid a 57.0% premium, or $163,995 more than homeowners.

The sharp fluctuations in the landlord-homeowner price gap suggest that investor purchasing is sporadic and may be influenced by off-market deals or distressed asset acquisitions that are not typical of the broader retail market. The low transaction volume for investors means that a few atypical purchases can dramatically alter the quarterly averages.

Comparing recent activity to the pandemic era (2020-2023), landlord acquisition prices have cooled from the $209,609 average seen during that period. The Q1 2026 average of $138,034 indicates a significant market correction or a shift in the type of assets being targeted by investors.

This pricing behavior highlights a key strategy for investors: capitalizing on opportunities to purchase well below the market rate. The ability to find and close on these discounted properties is a primary driver of their activity in Fillmore County.

During the fourth quarter of 2025, investors acquired 7 of the 69 total SFR properties sold in Fillmore County, capturing 10.1% of the market's purchase activity.

The entirety of this purchasing activity came from small-scale 'mom-and-pop' investors. Those in the 1-10 property tiers accounted for 100% of landlord acquisitions, with zero properties purchased by institutional investors (Tier 09).

New entrants were a key feature of the quarter. Investors in the single-property tier, representing those just beginning their portfolio, were the most active, purchasing 4 properties (57.1% of the landlord total). This activity was spread across 6 distinct entities.

The second most active group was small landlords in the 3-5 property tier, who purchased the remaining 3 properties (42.9% of the landlord total) across 2 entities.

This data confirms that the growth in investor ownership in Fillmore County is being fueled from the ground up by local, small-scale buyers, rather than large, corporate entities. There is no evidence of institutional capital flowing into the county's SFR market in Q4 2025.

The investor landscape in Fillmore County is overwhelmingly dominated by small landlords. Those owning between 1 and 10 properties (Tiers 01-04) collectively control 99.4% of all investor-owned SFRs, a near-total market share.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) form the bedrock of the local rental market. This tier alone accounts for 739 properties, representing a massive 76.9% share of the entire investor portfolio.

The scale of ownership drops off sharply in larger tiers. Landlords with two properties hold a 7.4% share, and those with 3-5 properties hold 12.5%. Combined, the first three tiers account for 96.8% of all investor-held housing.

Media narratives often focus on large institutional investors, but their presence in Fillmore County is statistically insignificant. The institutional tier (1,000+ properties) owns just a single property, accounting for only 0.1% of the investor market share.

This distribution underscores a hyper-localized market structure, where the rental housing supply is provided almost exclusively by community-level investors rather than large corporations. This is a crucial insight for understanding market dynamics and is often explored in Investor Pulse reports.

While individual landlords own the vast majority of properties overall (80.6%), ownership structure shifts decisively as portfolios grow. Companies become the majority owners at the 6-10 property tier, holding 14 properties for a 56.0% share, compared to the 11 properties (44.0%) held by individuals in that same tier.

This crossover point signals a strategic shift where investors are more likely to formalize their operations under a corporate entity as their holdings expand. For smaller portfolios, individual ownership is the standard.

In the foundational single-property tier, individuals own 619 homes (83.1%) versus 126 for companies (16.9%). This pattern of individual dominance continues through the two-property tier (83.1% individual) and the 3-5 property tier (75.8% individual).

The data clearly illustrates a lifecycle of real estate investor operations in Fillmore County. Portfolios are typically started and grown under personal names before transitioning to a more formal company structure for portfolios exceeding five properties.

This trend shows that while the market is defined by 'mom-and-pop' investors, a segment of these operators adopts more sophisticated business structures as they achieve a certain scale of operation.

Investor activity in Fillmore County is not evenly distributed but is instead highly concentrated in a few key areas. The top three zip codes by property count (55949, 55965, and 55939) collectively contain 365 investor-owned SFRs, which is 39.2% of the county's total investor portfolio of 930 properties.

The zip code 55949 is the epicenter of investor ownership by volume, with 138 properties. This area also has a high ownership rate of 16.1%.

However, the highest rate of investor penetration is found in zip code 55961, where investors own 17.9% of all SFRs. This indicates a market with significant rental demand or investment opportunity relative to its size.

The top five regions by ownership rate are 55961 (17.9%), 55949 (16.1%), 55962 (15.5%), and 55939 (13.2%). Investors often use a property search tool to identify opportunities in these high-concentration areas.

This geographic analysis reveals specific pockets of high investor concentration within the county. Understanding the difference between high-volume and high-penetration areas is critical for identifying where rental markets are most established versus where they may be reaching saturation.

Across all recent timeframes, the landlord community in Fillmore County has been a consistent net buyer, steadily adding to their portfolios. In Q1 2026, they acquired 9 properties while selling 7, resulting in a net gain of 2 properties.

This net buying activity was even more pronounced in previous periods. For the full year of 2025, landlords purchased 50 homes and sold only 16, a net acquisition of 34 properties. The activity in 2024 was stronger still, with 67 buys versus just 8 sells for a net gain of 59 properties.

In sharp contrast, the institutional tier (1,000+ properties) is not contributing to this growth. In 2025, this tier was perfectly neutral, with its transaction history showing one purchase and one sale for the entire year.

This divergence highlights two different market strategies. The broad base of smaller landlords is actively accumulating properties and expanding the county's rental stock. Meanwhile, the single institutional player is either holding steady or beginning a divestment phase.

The sustained net buying from mom-and-pop investors signals confidence in the local rental market's long-term prospects, a trend that is driving the gradual increase in investor market share.

In the first quarter of 2026, landlords were a party to 9 of the 101 total SFR transactions in Fillmore County, representing an 8.9% share of all market activity.

Transaction activity was entirely concentrated in the mom-and-pop tiers, with zero transactions recorded for institutional investors. New landlords entering the market (Tier 01) were the most active, accounting for 6 of the 9 total investor transactions.

A significant trend in sourcing is apparent: single-property investors heavily rely on purchasing from existing landlords. Of the 6 properties they bought, 4 came from other landlords, a high inter-landlord transaction rate of 66.7%.

New entrants appear to be paying a premium to acquire properties. The average purchase price for the single-property tier was $171,667. This is significantly higher than the $104,401 average paid by more established small landlords in the 3-5 property tier during the same period.

This suggests that new investors may be buying turnkey rental properties from existing operators at a higher price point, while more experienced landlords are finding more discounted opportunities, possibly through off-market channels.