Adams (OH) Investor Pulse Report (2026-Q1)

In Adams County, investors hold a significant 25.4% of the Single-Family Residential market, totaling 1,642 properties out of 6,473 available SFRs.

The investor landscape is overwhelmingly dominated by individuals rather than corporations. Individual landlords own 1,457 properties, accounting for 88.7% of the investor-owned portfolio, while companies hold the remaining 198 properties (12.1%).

This individual dominance is also reflected in the entity count, with 1,773 individual landlords compared to just 148 company entities. This highlights a fragmented market composed primarily of small-scale operators.

Cash transactions are the prevailing acquisition strategy. Investors in Adams County own 1,284 properties with cash, more than 3.5 times the 358 properties that are financed, indicating a well-capitalized investor base that can move quickly on opportunities.

The portfolio is clearly focused on rental income, with 1,620 of the 1,642 properties (98.7%) identified as rented or non-owner-occupied, confirming the business-oriented nature of these holdings.

Investors in Adams County demonstrated a clear pricing advantage in the most recent quarter. In Q1 2026, landlords acquired properties for an average price of $225,119, which is $7,443 (3.2%) less than the $232,562 paid by traditional homeowners.

However, this discount is not consistent, displaying significant volatility in recent quarters. The Q1 2026 discount follows periods of extreme fluctuation, including an unprecedented 49.7% discount ($103,908) in Q3 2025 and a 2.2% premium ($4,346) in Q1 2025, where landlords actually outbid homeowners.

A clear trend of price appreciation is evident in the market. The average landlord acquisition price surged from $127,856 in 2024 to $154,062 in 2025, and has already reached $225,119 in the first quarter of 2026 alone.

The data on historical acquisitions shows periods of inactivity, with zero properties purchased by landlords across several quarters in 2024 and 2025, suggesting that buying activity occurs in concentrated bursts rather than a steady flow.

This pricing behavior suggests that while investors can find deals, their purchasing power and the discounts they achieve are highly dependent on fluctuating market conditions and inventory.

Investor activity accounted for a substantial portion of the Adams County market in Q4 2025, with landlords purchasing 23 of the 85 total SFRs sold, a market share of 27.1%.

The acquisition market is almost entirely driven by small-scale investors. Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) purchased 20 of the 23 properties, representing 87.0% of all investor buying activity during the quarter.

New entrants and first-time investors were the most active segment. Single-property landlords (Tier 01) alone acquired 17 properties, making up 73.9% of all Q4 investor purchases and signaling a healthy influx of new capital into the rental market.

In stark contrast, large institutional investors (Tier 09) were completely absent from the market, making zero purchases. This reinforces the narrative that the local market is a small investor's domain.

Mid-size landlords showed minimal, targeted activity, with one property each purchased by investors in the 11-20, 51-100, and 101-1000 property tiers.

The ownership structure in Adams County is definitively decentralized and dominated by small investors. Mom-and-pop landlords, defined as those owning 1-10 properties, control 98.7% of all investor-owned housing.

The market's foundation is built on its smallest participants. Landlords with just a single property (Tier 01) represent the largest group by far, owning 1,362 properties, or 81.4% of the entire investor portfolio.

Conversely, the presence of large-scale institutional capital is negligible. Investors in the 1,000+ property tier (Tier 09) own only 2 properties, accounting for just 0.1% of the investor market, challenging any narrative of a corporate takeover.

Ownership concentration dissipates rapidly as portfolio size increases. After the single-property tier, landlords with 3-5 properties are the next largest group, holding 129 properties (7.7%), followed by those with two properties at 111 (6.6%).

The entire mid-to-large segment of investors (11 to 1,000+ properties) collectively owns just 21 properties, further emphasizing the hyper-fragmented nature of real estate investing in the county.

Individual investors are the primary owners across every single investor tier in Adams County, with no crossover point where companies become the majority. This pattern confirms that real estate investing in the area is a personal endeavor, not a corporate one.

The dominance of individuals is most pronounced at the entry level. In the single-property tier, individuals own 1,270 of the 1,374 properties, a 92.4% share, compared to just 104 properties (7.6%) owned by companies.

Even as portfolio sizes grow, individuals maintain a strong majority. In the 3-5 property tier, individuals own 89 homes (69.0%), and in the 6-10 property tier, they still hold 32 properties (64.0%).

Corporate ownership, while present, remains a minority stake across all segments. Companies hold their largest share (36.0%) in the 6-10 property tier, but this only amounts to 18 properties.

The data reveals a clear market structure where individuals build small-to-medium portfolios, while corporate entities have a very limited and supplementary role in the local rental market.

Investor ownership in Adams County is geographically concentrated, with three zip codes accounting for a majority of the activity. The zip codes 45693 (429 properties), 45660 (368 properties), and 45144 (301 properties) are the primary hubs for investor ownership.

A critical distinction exists between areas with the highest count of investor properties and those with the highest penetration rate. Zip code 45684 has the highest ownership rate at 45.6%, indicating nearly half of its SFRs are investor-owned, despite having a smaller total count of properties.

In contrast, 45693, the leader by sheer volume with 429 investor properties, has a much lower ownership rate of 20.8%. This suggests different market dynamics, with 45684 being a high-density rental market and 45693 being a larger market with more overall housing stock.

Several smaller zip codes also show high investor saturation, including 45650 (37.8%), 45616 (33.3%), and 45101 (33.3%), highlighting niche pockets of strong investor interest throughout the county.

This geographic distribution reveals that investors are not spread evenly but are targeting specific communities, creating areas with very high concentrations of rental housing.

Investors in Adams County are consistently expanding their portfolios, acting as strong net buyers over the past several years. In Q1 2026, they purchased 30 properties while selling only 3, a buy-to-sell ratio of 10-to-1.

This aggressive accumulation is not a new phenomenon. In the full year of 2025, landlords bought 101 properties and sold just 12, resulting in a net gain of 89 properties and an 8.4x buy/sell ratio.

The trend was similar in 2024, with 130 purchases against 19 sales, demonstrating a sustained period of portfolio growth across the county's investor base.

The limited data for institutional investors (1000+ tier) shows they were also net buyers in 2024, though on a much smaller scale, with 4 acquisitions and 2 dispositions. No recent institutional transaction data is available, aligning with their lack of purchasing activity.

This persistent net buying behavior indicates strong confidence in the local rental market and a long-term hold strategy among the county's dominant small investor segment.

In Q1 2026, landlords represented a significant force in the Adams County market, participating in 23.6% of all transactions with 30 distinct purchases.

The vast majority of this transactional activity was driven by the smallest investors. Single-property landlords (Tier 01) were responsible for 24 of the 30 transactions, or 80% of all investor-side activity.

A striking pricing disparity emerged among different investor tiers. Entry-level landlords in the single-property tier paid the highest average price at $263,086, while investors in the 3-5 property tier acquired a property for just $22,000. This suggests smaller investors are buying market-rate homes while larger investors may be targeting distressed or lower-value assets.

The market shows no evidence of inter-landlord trading in Q1. Zero percent of properties purchased by investors were acquired from other landlords, meaning all new inventory came from homeowners or other non-investor sellers.

This lack of landlord-to-landlord sales, combined with the strong net-buying trend, suggests a market where investors are focused on accumulation and long-term holds rather than short-term flipping to one another.