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

Investor ownership is a significant force in Pembina County, with landlords holding 843 single-family residential properties, which constitutes a substantial 40.2% of the total 2,097 SFRs in the market.

The market is overwhelmingly dominated by individual investors rather than corporations. Individuals own 807 properties, making up 95.7% of the investor portfolio, compared to just 48 properties (5.7%) owned by companies.

This individual dominance is also reflected in the entity count, where 1,015 of the 1,050 total landlords are individuals. This highlights a market structure built on small-scale, local real estate investing.

Cash is the predominant acquisition strategy among landlords in the county. A remarkable 705 properties are owned free and clear, far outnumbering the 138 properties that are financed, signaling strong financial standing or a preference for lower-risk assets.

The investor portfolio is almost entirely dedicated to rentals, with 837 properties classified as non-owner-occupied. This near-total rental focus underscores the role of investors in providing the bulk of the area's single-family rental housing stock.

Investors in Pembina County acquire properties at a profoundly lower price point than traditional homeowners. In Q1 2026, landlords paid an average of just $72,000, which is 63.2% less than the $195,745 average paid by homeowners, a massive price gap of $123,745 per property.

This deep discount is not an anomaly but a persistent market feature. In the prior four quarters, the discount remained substantial, ranging from a 30.5% savings ($53,642) in Q3 2025 to a 62.5% savings ($104,115) in Q2 2025.

The consistency of this price gap indicates that investors and homeowners operate in effectively separate markets. Landlords are likely focusing on properties requiring significant renovation, distressed sales, or off-market opportunities not available to typical retail buyers.

Overall price trends for landlord acquisitions show some volatility, with the average price fluctuating between $62,429 and $237,900 over the past year. However, across all timeframes, the purchase price remains significantly below that of the average homebuyer.

Landlord purchasing activity was robust in Q4 2025, capturing 5 of the 11 total SFR sales for a 45.5% market share. This high level of activity demonstrates the significant role investors play in the local real estate transaction market.

The entirety of investor purchasing in Q4 was driven by mom-and-pop landlords. All 5 properties acquired by investors were bought by those in the smallest tiers (1-10 properties), with zero activity from mid-size or institutional players.

New investors are a key driver of market activity. The single-property tier saw 4 new entities enter the market, purchasing 3 properties and representing 60.0% of all landlord acquisitions for the quarter.

The two-property tier also showed activity, with 2 entities acquiring 2 properties. This reinforces the finding that the market's growth comes from small, local investors either starting or slightly expanding their portfolios.

Institutional investors (1,000+ properties) were completely absent from the purchasing landscape, recording zero acquisitions. This confirms Pembina County as a market defined by small-scale, individual investment, not corporate consolidation.

The investor landscape in Pembina County is the epitome of a mom-and-pop market. Landlords with portfolios of 1-10 properties (Tiers 01-04) collectively own 99.8% of all investor-held SFRs, demonstrating a complete absence of large-scale players.

Single-property landlords form the bedrock of the market. This tier alone accounts for 744 properties, representing an overwhelming 85.8% of the total investor portfolio, a level of concentration rarely seen.

Mid-size landlords are virtually nonexistent. The tiers representing 11-100 properties are completely empty, and only two properties are held by landlords in the 21-50 and 101-1000 tiers combined.

Institutional ownership is nonexistent in Pembina County. The 1,000+ property tier (Tier 09) holds 0.0% of the market, challenging the narrative of widespread corporate ownership and highlighting the local, small-scale nature of this rental market.

This extreme concentration in the smallest tiers indicates a highly fragmented market with a low barrier to entry, where individual investors can effectively compete and build small portfolios.

Individual investors are the primary owners across nearly every portfolio size in Pembina County. They own 96.5% of single-property holdings (727 properties) and 94.9% of two-property holdings (56 properties).

A notable shift occurs in the 6-10 property tier, where companies first achieve majority ownership. In this small segment, companies own 16 properties (55.2%) compared to 13 properties (44.8%) for individuals.

This crossover point represents the threshold where the complexities of managing a slightly larger portfolio may encourage formal incorporation, yet it remains a very small portion of the overall market.

Even with a company majority in one tier, the broader market remains firmly in the hands of individuals. Across the entire 843-property investor portfolio, individuals own 807 homes (95.7%).

This ownership structure reveals that while some investors choose to incorporate as they grow, the path for the vast majority of landlords in Pembina County is to own and operate as individuals, maintaining the market's grassroots character.

Investor ownership in Pembina County is not evenly distributed but is instead focused in specific communities. Several zip codes exhibit investor ownership rates above 50%, indicating that landlords own more than half of the single-family housing stock in these areas.

The 58276 zip code leads with the highest concentration, where investors own 53.6% of SFR properties. The 58282 (Walhalla) and 58241 zip codes are close behind, with landlord ownership rates of 51.4% and 50.0%, respectively.

In terms of raw numbers, the 58220 zip code holds the largest number of investor-owned homes at 238, representing a 33.2% ownership rate. Walhalla (58282) follows with 209 properties at the much higher 51.4% rate.

These high-penetration areas suggest that rental housing is the dominant form of single-family occupancy. This can create unique market dynamics and present targeted opportunities for investors looking to enter or expand in established rental communities.

The data highlights a clear pattern of geographic clustering. Investors appear to be targeting specific towns and neighborhoods, leading to a landscape where some areas are primarily homeowner-occupied while others are defined by their rental inventory.

Investors in Pembina County are consistently in accumulation mode, acting as strong net buyers. In 2025, landlords purchased 71 properties while selling only 13, resulting in a net gain of 58 properties to the rental market.

This pattern of net buying has been consistent over time. In 2024, the trend was similar, with 62 properties bought and 11 sold, for a net increase of 51 properties. This demonstrates a sustained, multi-year strategy of portfolio growth among local investors.

Transaction data from Q2 and Q3 of 2025 further supports this trend. In Q3, investors bought 24 homes and sold just one, and in Q2, they bought 15 and sold three, showing persistent acquisition pressure throughout the year.

In stark contrast, institutional investors in the 1,000+ property tier are effectively inactive. Their only recorded activity in the past two years was a single purchase and a single sale in 2024, leaving them with a net-zero impact on the market.

The transaction history clearly shows that the growth in Pembina County's rental housing stock is being fueled exclusively by small, local landlords who continue to buy and hold properties.

In Q4 2025, landlords were involved in 8 of the 17 total single-family residential transactions, accounting for a significant 47.1% share of all market activity. This level of participation underscores their importance to local market liquidity.

All landlord transaction activity was confined to the smallest investor tiers. Both the single-property and two-property tiers recorded 4 transactions each, with zero activity from any landlord holding more than two properties.

This quarter, investors exclusively acquired properties from the open market rather than from other landlords. The data shows that 0.0% of purchases were from existing landlords, suggesting a focus on converting owner-occupied homes to rentals or acquiring properties from non-investor sellers.

The average purchase price for new single-property landlords in Q4 was $72,000. This relatively low price point aligns with the broader trend of investors targeting properties significantly cheaper than those bought by traditional homeowners.

The transaction data for Q4 paints a clear picture: the market is being shaped by new and small investors buying properties from the general public, not by a high-velocity, investor-to-investor trading environment.