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

In Pierce County, investors hold a significant 21.8% of the single-family residential market, owning 299 out of 1,372 total SFR properties. This presence underscores the importance of rental housing in the local market.

The investor landscape is overwhelmingly dominated by individuals, who own 293 properties, or 98.0% of the entire investor-owned portfolio. Company ownership is minimal, with just 9 properties (3.0%), highlighting a market driven by local, small-scale real estate investing.

This individual dominance is also reflected in the entity count, where 351 of the 360 total landlords are individuals. This structure contrasts sharply with markets that have a heavy corporate or institutional presence.

A clear preference for cash transactions is evident, with 248 properties (83.0%) owned free and clear, while only 51 (17.0%) are financed. This suggests a fiscally conservative approach among local landlords, who rely on equity rather than leverage.

The portfolio's purpose is clearly for rental income, as 288 of the 299 properties (96.3%) are non-owner-occupied. This high rental rate confirms that investor activity is directly supplying the local rental housing stock.

Acquisition pricing in Pierce County is characterized by extreme volatility, a direct result of very low transaction counts. There is no consistent discount or premium for landlords; instead, pricing appears highly opportunistic and deal-specific.

In 2025-Q3, landlords achieved a massive 76.1% discount, paying an average of $50,000 compared to the homeowner average of $209,259. This represents a savings of $159,259 per property.

However, this trend completely reversed in 2025-Q2, when landlords paid a 50.1% premium. Their average price of $174,500 was $58,250 higher than the homeowner average of $116,250, suggesting a willingness to pay more for a specific, desirable asset.

The market saw another significant landlord discount in 2025-Q1, with investors paying 48.3% less than homeowners ($71,000 vs. $137,407). These wild swings prevent the identification of a stable pricing strategy.

Recent data for late 2025 and 2024 shows a complete halt in purchasing, with zero properties acquired by landlords. This lack of activity makes it impossible to analyze current price trends or appreciation.

In a stark departure from previous trends, real estate investors made no single-family property purchases in Pierce County during the most recent quarter. Landlords acquired 0 of the 6 total SFRs sold, marking their market share as 0%.

This halt in activity was universal across all investor types. Mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties), who constitute the entirety of the local investor base, recorded zero purchases.

Likewise, institutional investors (1,000+ properties) remained absent from the market, consistent with their 0% ownership share in the county. Their purchase volume was also zero.

The lack of new acquisitions means no new landlords entered the market in the single-property tier, a key indicator of market health and accessibility for first-time investors.

This purchasing freeze represents a significant cooldown for a market that had previously seen steady acquisition activity, suggesting that local investors are now in a holding pattern.

The investor ownership structure in Pierce County is the epitome of a mom-and-pop market. Landlords with portfolios of 1-10 properties control 100% of the 299 investor-owned SFRs, with no mid-size or institutional players present.

First-time or single-property landlords form the bedrock of the market, owning 233 properties. This accounts for a staggering 75.4% of all investor-owned housing, showing that the rental market is supplied by a large base of very small-scale operators.

The next largest segments are landlords owning 3-5 properties, who control 40 homes (12.9%), and those with two properties, who own 29 homes (9.4%).

The smallest tier within the mom-and-pop category, landlords owning 6-10 properties, holds just 7 properties, or 2.3% of the total.

Institutional investors with 1,000+ properties have a 0.0% market share. This complete absence of large-scale capital reinforces the local, community-based nature of Pierce County's rental market.

The overwhelming dominance of individual investors is a defining characteristic across all ownership tiers in Pierce County. Companies play a negligible role, never constituting a majority at any portfolio size.

In the foundational single-property tier, 226 of 233 properties (96.6%) are held by individuals. The 8 properties owned by companies at this level represent the largest corporate presence in any tier.

Ownership is exclusively individual in the two-property and 3-5 property tiers, where 100% of the 29 and 40 properties, respectively, are owned by individual landlords.

Even in the largest portfolio segment active in the county, the 6-10 property tier, individuals own 6 of the 7 properties (85.7%).

There is no crossover point where companies become the majority owners. This market structure indicates that nearly all real estate investors in the area operate personally rather than through corporate entities, regardless of their portfolio size.

Geographic analysis reveals a concentration of investor-owned properties in Pierce County's population center, but higher ownership *rates* in smaller, surrounding communities. The zip code 58368, which includes the city of Rugby, contains the largest volume with 231 investor-owned SFRs.

However, the highest market penetration is found elsewhere. In the 58313 zip code, investors own 14 properties, representing 53.8% of the area's entire single-family housing stock.

A similarly high concentration exists in 58384, where investors own 46.4% of the homes. These figures point to specific areas where rental properties are the dominant form of housing.

The 58341 zip code also shows a significant investor presence, with a 30.4% ownership rate (14 properties).

This pattern, where the highest counts and highest percentages are in different locations, is common. It highlights that while the main town has the most rentals, smaller communities rely even more heavily on investor-provided housing.

Historically, the transaction behavior of landlords in Pierce County has been defined by consistent portfolio growth. In 2025, they were aggressive net buyers, adding 17 properties while divesting only one, resulting in a net gain of 16 properties.

This pattern of accumulation was consistent with the prior year. In 2024, investors purchased 18 homes and sold only 4, for a net increase of 14 properties to their collective portfolio.

The buy-to-sell ratio of 17-to-1 in 2025 demonstrates a strong, long-term hold strategy prevalent among the county's investor base.

Given that the market is 100% mom-and-pop landlords, this activity reflects the behavior of small, individual investors, not institutional funds.

The complete lack of transaction data for institutional investors (1000+ tier) underscores their absence from the market, making all recorded historical activity attributable to smaller players.

The most recent quarter saw a complete freeze in investor transaction activity in Pierce County. Landlords were involved in 0 of the 6 total SFR transactions, for a market share of 0%.

This inactivity was consistent across all portfolio sizes. The typically active mom-and-pop tiers (1-10 properties) recorded zero transactions, a significant deviation from the net buying patterns of previous years.

No properties were reported as bought from other landlords, bringing inter-landlord trading activity to a standstill. This suggests a lack of liquidity and portfolio churn within the investor community.

Consequently, average purchase prices for all tiers were $0, as no acquisitions occurred.

This halt in transactions aligns with the purchasing data, confirming that investors have shifted from a period of active acquisition to a wait-and-see approach in the current market.