Merrimack (NH) Investor Pulse Report (2026-Q1)

Investor ownership in Merrimack County, NH accounts for 8,346 single-family residential properties, representing 20.6% of the total 40,585 SFRs in the market.

The landscape is overwhelmingly controlled by individual investors rather than corporations. Individuals own 7,468 properties, making up 89.5% of the investor portfolio, while companies own the remaining 1,355 properties (16.2%).

This individual dominance is also reflected in the entity count, where 11,226 individual landlords far outnumber the 1,319 company landlords, indicating a market of many small-scale operators.

Cash is the preferred acquisition method for investors in the region. Of the total portfolio, 4,676 properties are owned outright (cash), while 3,670 are financed, showing a strong capital position among local investors.

The portfolio is clearly geared towards rental income, with 8,275 properties classified as rented or non-owner-occupied. This high concentration confirms that the vast majority of investor-owned properties are active rentals contributing to the local housing supply.

In a surprising reversal of typical market dynamics, landlords in Merrimack County paid significantly more than traditional homeowners in Q1 2026. The average landlord acquisition price was $490,635, a 14.7% premium of $63,050 over the homeowner average of $427,585.

This premium contrasts sharply with trends from the prior year. In Q3 2025, landlords paid a slight 1.4% discount ($7,437), and in Q2 2025, prices were nearly identical to homeowners, with a negligible 0.0% discount ($161). This shift suggests escalating competition among investors for limited inventory.

The Q1 2026 price also demonstrates significant appreciation compared to recent years. The average price of $490,635 is notably higher than the $448,854 average seen during the 2020-2023 period, signaling sustained price growth in the market.

Even within the last year, prices have fluctuated, with Q1 2025 also showing a premium of 15.0% ($66,108) before prices leveled out mid-year, indicating a volatile bidding environment for investors.

Investor purchasing activity surged in the fourth quarter of 2025, with landlords acquiring 152 of the 200 total SFRs sold, capturing an overwhelming 76.0% of the market share.

The entirety of this purchasing activity came from small-scale mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties), who bought 100% of the investor-acquired homes. Institutional investors with over 1,000 properties made no acquisitions in the county.

New investors flooded the market, with single-property landlords (Tier 01) making up the vast majority of buyers. This tier alone purchased 146 properties, accounting for 96.1% of all landlord acquisitions.

The data reveals a significant number of new entrants, as 213 distinct entities were responsible for the 146 purchases in the single-property tier. This suggests many properties were acquired through co-ownership or by individuals setting up multiple entities.

The remaining activity was minimal, with landlords in the two-property and 6-10 property tiers each purchasing just 3 properties, further cementing the market's reliance on first-time and very small investors for acquisition volume.

The investor landscape in Merrimack County is completely defined by small-scale operators. Mom-and-pop landlords, owning between 1 and 10 properties, collectively control 99.8% of all investor-held SFRs.

The market is highly fragmented, with single-property landlords (Tier 01) forming the bedrock of the rental market. This tier alone owns 7,855 properties, which constitutes a massive 92.5% share of the entire investor portfolio.

The next largest tiers are also small, with two-property landlords holding a 4.0% share (342 properties) and those with 3-5 properties holding 2.6% (221 properties).

Contrary to narratives of corporate consolidation, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1000+ properties) have no footprint in Merrimack County, holding 0.0% of the investor-owned housing stock.

Even mid-size landlords are exceedingly rare. Portfolios in the 11-20 property range account for just 0.1% of ownership, reinforcing that the local market is driven almost exclusively by small, local investors.

While individual investors dominate the Merrimack County market overall, a clear structural shift occurs as portfolios grow. Companies become the majority owners at the 6-10 property tier, controlling 37 properties for a 64.9% share, compared to the 20 properties (35.1%) held by individuals in that tier.

This crossover point indicates that as investors scale their operations beyond a handful of properties, they are more likely to adopt a corporate structure for liability and management purposes.

However, in the smaller tiers where the vast majority of properties reside, individuals maintain a strong grip. In the dominant single-property tier, individuals own 7,152 homes (86.6%) versus 1,104 for companies (13.4%).

A similar pattern holds for the two-property tier, where individuals own 247 properties (70.6%) compared to 103 for companies (29.4%).

The 3-5 property tier represents a more balanced transition point, with individuals holding a slight majority of 56.0% (130 properties) over companies at 44.0% (102 properties).

Investor activity in Merrimack County is highly concentrated in specific zip codes. The 03221 area stands out as the primary hub, containing the highest count of investor-owned properties at 671 and one of the highest ownership rates at 50.1%.

Other areas of significant investor presence by property count include 03235 with 463 properties (20.6% rate) and 03229 with 292 properties (15.0% rate).

Some zip codes show high investor counts but lower overall market penetration. For example, 03106 has 284 investor-owned homes, but this represents only an 8.2% share of its housing stock, indicating a large market with room for more activity.

Extreme concentration is visible in smaller areas like 03231, which reports a 100.0% investor ownership rate, suggesting a small community composed almost entirely of rental or investment properties.

Data quality issues were noted in several zip codes, including 03237, 03244, and 03261, which show high ownership rates but have missing property counts, indicating potential reporting gaps in those areas.

Landlords in Merrimack County are in a strong accumulation phase, consistently buying far more properties than they sell. In Q1 2026, investors were aggressive net buyers, acquiring 220 SFR properties while disposing of only 17, resulting in a net gain of 203 properties.

This translates to a powerful 12.9-to-1 buy/sell ratio, underscoring the high demand and intent to expand portfolios in the current market.

This is not a new phenomenon but a sustained, multi-year trend. For the full year of 2025, investors bought 1,725 properties and sold just 113, for a net gain of 1,612 and an even higher ratio of 15.3-to-1.

The pattern was nearly identical in 2024, with 1,404 purchases against 95 sales, yielding a net gain of 1,309 properties and a ratio of 14.8-to-1.

No transaction data was available for institutional investors (1000+ tier), which aligns with their 0.0% ownership share in the county, confirming their absence from the market's activity.

Investors were the primary drivers of the Merrimack County housing market in the first quarter, accounting for 220 of the 298 total SFR transactions. This gives landlords a commanding 73.8% share of all transaction activity.

A significant price disparity exists between investor tiers, suggesting different acquisition strategies. New investors in the single-property tier, who dominated volume with 213 transactions, paid the highest average price at $496,921.

In sharp contrast, more established landlords in the 6-10 property tier spent significantly less, with an average purchase price of just $220,175 across 4 transactions. This price gap of $276,746 indicates that smaller, more experienced landlords may be targeting different types of properties or are more adept at securing deals.

Landlords in the two-property tier also appeared to find value, paying an average of $285,778 for their 3 acquisitions.

Inter-landlord trading is not a major source of inventory. Only 6.6% of properties purchased by single-property landlords were acquired from other investors, meaning the vast majority of new inventory is being bought from traditional homeowners.