Johnston (NC) Investor Pulse Report (2026-Q1)

Investors hold a significant 18.7% of all Single Family Residential properties in Johnston County, totaling 14,203 homes.

Individual "mom-and-pop" investors are the primary owners, controlling 8,947 properties, which accounts for 63.0% of the investor-owned housing stock. Company-owned portfolios make up the remaining 39.3% with 5,577 properties.

A clear distinction exists between the number of landlords and the properties they own. Individuals comprise 87.5% of all landlord entities (11,426 of 13,054) but own 63.0% of properties, while companies make up just 12.5% of entities but control a disproportionately large 39.3% of assets.

The portfolio is heavily geared towards rental income, with 13,829 properties (97.4%) classified as rented, confirming a strong focus on generating cash flow.

Cash is the dominant financing method among investors in the area. A total of 10,299 properties are owned outright, compared to just 3,904 that carry financing, indicating a well-capitalized investor base.

In the first quarter of 2026, investors in Johnston County purchased properties for an average price of $350,710, securing a 10.5% discount compared to traditional homeowners, who paid an average of $391,699.

This price gap translates to a direct savings of $40,989 per property, highlighting a consistent tactical advantage for landlords in the market.

However, this advantage has recently tightened. The 10.5% discount in Q1 2026 is considerably smaller than the gaps seen throughout 2025, which ranged from 16.2% in Q2 to a high of 20.1% in Q3.

The narrowing price gap may signal increasing competition among buyers or a shift in investor strategy toward higher-quality, market-ready properties rather than distressed homes requiring significant renovation.

Despite the recent narrowing, the persistent ability of investors to acquire properties below typical market rates points to sophisticated deal-sourcing methods, such as off-market purchases or targeting specific property profiles.

Investors represented a major purchasing force in the Johnston County market during Q4 2025, acquiring 144 of the 647 SFR homes sold, which captures a 22.3% market share.

This acquisition activity was overwhelmingly driven by small-scale investors. Mom-and-pop landlords (owning 1-10 properties) were responsible for 82.4% of these purchases, totaling 122 homes.

New market entrants made a significant impact, with the single-property tier alone accounting for 96 homes (64.9% of all investor purchases). This activity was driven by 130 distinct new landlord entities, signaling a healthy influx of first-time investors.

In stark contrast, institutional investors (1,000+ properties) had a negligible presence on the buy-side, acquiring just 3 properties, or 2.0% of the investor total.

This data reveals a market where growth is powered by individual real estate investing, not large-scale corporate consolidation.

The Johnston County rental market is fundamentally controlled by small-scale, local investors. Mom-and-pop landlords (owning 1-10 properties) hold a commanding 73.3% share of all investor-owned SFRs.

Single-property landlords form the bedrock of this group, with their 7,816 properties accounting for 53.0% of the entire investor portfolio. This underscores the market's heavy reliance on first-time and small investors.

Despite their high profile in national headlines, institutional investors (1,000+ properties) own a comparatively smaller share, controlling 2,065 properties, which represents 14.0% of the local investor market.

The combined share of all mid-size and large landlords (holding 11-1,000 properties) is only 12.7%, further highlighting the market's fragmented nature and the dominance of smaller players.

This ownership distribution challenges the common narrative of a corporate landlord takeover, revealing a market structure primarily supported by individual capital and small business enterprise.

Ownership structure in Johnston County shows a clear and predictable evolution as portfolio sizes increase. Individual investors dominate the entry-level tiers, owning 89.6% of single-property portfolios and 76.5% of two-property portfolios.

The market reaches a distinct crossover point in the 6-10 property tier. This is the first tier where companies become the majority owners, holding 55.1% of properties compared to 44.9% for individuals.

Beyond this threshold, corporate ownership becomes almost absolute. Companies own 66.6% of properties in the 11-20 tier and a staggering 99.7% in the 21-50 property tier.

This pattern suggests that while individuals are the primary entry point into real estate investment, scaling a portfolio often involves formal incorporation for liability protection, access to commercial financing, and operational efficiency.

The data highlights a natural progression from personal investment to a professional business structure as landlords expand their holdings and operations.

Investor ownership in Johnston County is not evenly distributed; it is heavily focused in a few key areas. The top five zip codes by property count (27520, 27527, 27577, 27576, and 27504) collectively contain 10,004 properties, representing 70.4% of the entire investor portfolio.

The zip code 27520 serves as the epicenter of investor activity, with 3,400 properties alone. This amounts to a 20.2% investor ownership rate for that specific area.

A different pattern emerges when analyzing by ownership rate rather than count. Smaller zip codes, such as 27607 (100.0%) and 27555 (87.2%), have the highest penetration of investor ownership, likely due to smaller total housing stocks where a few acquisitions can heavily skew the percentage.

Notably, the top zip codes by investor count do not overlap with the top zip codes by ownership rate, illustrating the important distinction between markets with high volume and those with high saturation.

This geographic concentration suggests investors are strategically targeting specific neighborhoods with desirable rental characteristics, development potential, or favorable acquisition conditions.

The overall investor market in Johnston County is in a strong accumulation phase. In Q1 2026, landlords were aggressive net buyers, purchasing 192 properties while only selling 68, resulting in a buy-to-sell ratio of 2.8 to 1.

This net buying activity has been a consistent trend over the past two years, with investors adding a net 585 properties to their portfolios in 2025 and 702 in 2024.

However, a significant divergence in strategy is apparent when segmenting by investor size. While the market as a whole is buying, institutional investors (1,000+ properties) are actively divesting their holdings.

Institutions were net sellers in Q1 2026 (3 buys vs. 5 sells) and Q3 2025 (9 buys vs. 11 sells). This is a strategic reversal from 2024, when they were clear net buyers, acquiring 51 properties while selling only 22.

This trend suggests that smaller, local investors are absorbing the inventory that larger, institutional players are strategically shedding, leading to a shift in the county's ownership landscape.

In Q1 2026, investors participated in 20.9% of all SFR transactions, with 192 purchases. Activity was heavily concentrated at the small end of the market, as 130 of these transactions (67.7%) were made by single-property landlords.

A distinct pricing hierarchy exists among investor tiers, revealing different acquisition strategies. First-time landlords (Tier 01) paid the highest average price at $374,031, while institutional investors (Tier 09) paid the least at $248,713.

This massive 33.5% pricing advantage for the largest players suggests they leverage scale, market connections, and superior assessor data to secure properties at a deep discount, likely through off-market channels.

Transaction sourcing also varies significantly by size. Mid-size landlords in the 21-50 property tier acquired 100% of their new properties from other landlords, indicating a strategy of buying established, cash-flowing rental portfolios.

In contrast, only 13.1% of purchases by new single-property investors came from other landlords, suggesting they primarily compete with traditional homeowners for on-market listings.