Burke (ND) Investor Pulse Report (2026-Q1)

In Burke County, ND, investors hold a significant 27.1% of the Single-Family Residential market, with a total of 95 properties out of 350.

Ownership is overwhelmingly concentrated among individual investors, who own 93 properties, or 97.9% of the investor-owned housing stock. In contrast, companies own just 2 properties, representing a minimal 2.1% share.

This market is composed of 116 distinct landlords, with 114 being individuals and only 2 classified as companies, underscoring the granular, mom-and-pop nature of local real estate investing.

A strong preference for cash ownership is evident, with 72 properties (75.8%) owned free and clear, compared to only 23 properties (24.2%) that are financed. This suggests a low-leverage, stable investment strategy among local landlords.

The entire investor portfolio of 95 properties is non-owner-occupied, confirming that these holdings are dedicated rentals contributing to the local housing supply.

Pricing analysis in Burke County is characterized by low transaction volume, leading to high volatility. The most recent landlord purchase in Q1 2026 was for a single property at $260,000, with no corresponding traditional homeowner transaction for comparison.

A notable outlier occurred in Q2 2025, where a landlord acquired a property for just $40,000, a staggering 89.7% discount compared to the average homeowner purchase price of $389,000 that quarter. This $349,000 gap suggests the landlord likely acquired a distressed or otherwise non-market-rate property.

Despite quarterly volatility, a clear appreciation trend is visible over the long term. The average landlord acquisition price in 2025 was $177,667, a 92.4% increase from the 2020-2023 average of $92,320.

Due to the extremely low number of transactions, it is not possible to establish a consistent landlord discount or premium relative to homeowners in this market.

The limited data highlights a market where individual deal-finding, rather than broad market trends, likely dictates acquisition prices for investors.

Investor activity was highly prominent in Q1 2026, with landlords acquiring 1 of the 2 total SFR properties sold in Burke County, representing a 50.0% market share.

The entirety of this activity was driven by the smallest investor segment. A new, single-property landlord purchased the home, accounting for 100.0% of all landlord acquisitions for the quarter.

This transaction signals new capital entering the local rental market at the smallest scale, reinforcing the area's mom-and-pop investor character.

Mid-size landlords (11-1,000 properties) and institutional investors (1,000+ properties) were completely inactive, with 0 purchases recorded in Q1.

The data shows a market defined not by large-scale acquisitions but by individual new entrants making strategic, singular purchases.

The investor landscape in Burke County is unequivocally dominated by small-scale operators. Mom-and-pop landlords, defined as those owning 1-10 properties, control 98.9% of the investor-owned SFR market.

The concentration is most extreme at the entry level. Single-property landlords (Tier 01) alone own 93 properties, which constitutes 97.9% of all investor holdings. This highlights that the rental market is overwhelmingly supported by individuals with a single investment property.

There is virtually no mid-size or large-scale investor presence. An owner with two properties holds 1.1% of the stock, and an owner in the 11-20 property tier also holds just 1.1%.

Institutional investors (Tier 09, 1,000+ properties) are entirely absent from Burke County, with 0.0% ownership. This market structure stands in stark contrast to narratives of corporate landlord dominance in other regions.

The ownership distribution reveals a highly fragmented market where the typical landlord is a local individual, not a large corporation.

Individual investors are the definitive owners in Burke County's rental market across all tiers. In the dominant single-property tier, individuals own 91 of the 93 properties (97.8%), while companies own just 2 (2.2%).

Beyond the entry-level tier, company ownership disappears entirely. The single landlord in the two-property tier is an individual, as is the one landlord in the 11-20 property tier.

Unlike larger urban markets, there is no 'crossover point' in Burke County where companies begin to dominate larger portfolio tiers. Individual ownership is absolute at every level of the market.

This data reinforces that the local investment scene is driven by personal capital and individual operators rather than corporate-level investment strategies.

The lack of company presence in portfolios larger than one property suggests that scaling as a corporate entity is not a common or perhaps viable strategy in this specific market.

Investment activity in Burke County is not evenly distributed, with significant concentration in a few key zip codes. The 58721 zip code is the primary hub, containing 30 investor-owned properties, which represents a high 38.0% ownership rate for that area.

The top five zip codes by property count (58721, 58773, 58727, 58772, and 58737) collectively contain 82 properties, or 86.3% of all investor-owned SFRs in the county.

High investor penetration is a key feature of the market. After 58721, the zip codes with the highest investor ownership rates are 58772 (33.3%) and 58784 (28.6%), indicating that landlords own roughly one-third of the SFR stock in these areas.

There is a strong correlation between the areas with the highest count of investor properties and those with the highest ownership percentage, signaling that investors are clustered in the same core locations.

This geographic clustering points to specific neighborhoods or towns within the county that are particularly attractive for rental property investment.

A comprehensive analysis of historical transaction dynamics in Burke County is not possible due to insufficient data. The low number of recorded buy and sell transactions prevents the calculation of meaningful trends.

It cannot be determined whether landlords have been net buyers or net sellers over time, as reliable buy-to-sell ratios cannot be established.

Similarly, the degree of inter-landlord trading is unknown. There is not enough data to calculate the percentage of transactions where one landlord sells to another, a key metric for market maturity and liquidity.

Price analysis between average buy prices and average sell prices is also inconclusive, making it impossible to infer typical profit margins or holding gains from the available historical data.

The absence of this data is itself an insight: it depicts a market with infrequent transactions and low liquidity, where assets are likely held for the long term rather than actively traded.

In Q1 2026, landlords played a major role in market activity, participating in 1 of the 2 total SFR transactions for a 50.0% share.

This activity was confined to the smallest investor tier. A new, single-property landlord made the purchase, highlighting the market's reliance on new entrants rather than existing large players expanding their portfolios.

The average purchase price for this Tier 01 investor was $260,000 for the quarter.

The acquisition was sourced from outside the investor community, with 0.0% of landlord purchases coming from other landlords. This suggests new rental inventory is being created from the existing owner-occupied housing stock.

No transactions were recorded for any other investor tier, confirming that institutional and mid-size landlords were entirely dormant in the Burke County market during Q1.