Johnston (OK) Investor Pulse Report (2026-Q1)

In Johnston County, investors hold a significant 26.3% of the single-family residential market, totaling 582 properties out of 2,217 total SFRs.

Ownership is overwhelmingly concentrated among individual real estate investors, who control 499 properties, or 85.7% of the investor-owned housing stock. Companies own the remaining 87 properties, representing a 14.9% share.

The landlord entity landscape mirrors this property distribution, with 632 individual landlords making up the vast majority of the 700 total investors in the county, compared to just 68 company landlords.

A defining characteristic of this market is the preference for cash transactions. Investors own more than four times as many properties in cash (468) as they do with financing (114), indicating a well-capitalized and low-leverage investor base.

The portfolio is almost exclusively dedicated to rentals. A total of 567 of the 582 investor-owned properties are non-owner-occupied, a rate of 97.4% that underscores the rental-focused strategy of landlords in Johnston County.

In the first quarter of 2026, investors in Johnston County demonstrated a remarkable ability to acquire properties at a deep discount. The average landlord purchase price was $112,692, which is 41.6% lower than the $192,955 paid by traditional homeowners, saving investors an average of $80,263 per home.

This pricing advantage represents a significant shift in market dynamics over the past year. The current discount is a stark contrast to Q1 2025, when landlords were paying an 11.3% premium over homeowners ($175,800 vs. $157,889).

The volatility of the landlord discount is a key trend, ranging from a massive 65.4% in Q3 2025 to just 2.3% in Q2 2025. This fluctuation suggests investors are capitalizing on specific opportunities rather than benefiting from a consistent market-wide price advantage.

Despite quarterly fluctuations, overall prices have appreciated since the pandemic-era boom. The Q1 2026 average price of $112,692 reflects a 14.0% increase over the average acquisition price of $98,827 recorded between 2020 and 2023.

This ability to secure properties well below the typical homeowner price point is a critical factor driving investor activity and profitability in the Johnston County market.

Investor activity was exceptionally strong in the fourth quarter of 2025, with landlords purchasing 6 of the 15 single-family homes sold in Johnston County, a market share of 40.0%.

The entirety of this purchasing activity was driven by small-scale investors. Mom-and-pop landlords, defined as those owning 1-10 properties, made up 100% of investor acquisitions, with institutional investors making zero purchases.

New entrants are a key driver of market activity. Single-property landlords were the most active group, with 6 new entities acquiring 4 properties, which accounted for 57.1% of all investor purchases.

Small, established landlords also expanded their portfolios. Investors in the 3-5 property tier purchased 2 homes (28.6% of activity), while those in the two-property tier added 1 home (14.3%).

The data clearly shows that the growth in Johnston County's rental market is fueled entirely by local, small-scale operators, not by large corporations.

The investor landscape in Johnston County is characterized by the overwhelming dominance of small-scale landlords. Mom-and-pop investors, who own between 1 and 10 properties, control 99.0% of all investor-owned single-family homes.

First-time or single-holding landlords are the single largest force in the market. The 'Single-property' tier alone accounts for 446 properties, representing 73.7% of the entire investor-owned portfolio.

Ownership concentration falls off steeply as portfolio sizes increase. The 'Two-property' tier holds a 6.4% share, the '3-5 property' tier holds 14.5%, and the '6-10 property' tier controls just 4.3%.

Mid-size and large investors are virtually non-existent. Tiers for owners with 11 or more properties collectively own just 1.0% of the investor-held housing stock.

Notably, there is zero ownership by institutional investors (1,000+ properties), reinforcing that Johnston County's rental market is entirely a local, small-business phenomenon.

While individual investors dominate Johnston County's rental market overall, a clear pattern emerges when analyzing ownership by portfolio size: corporate ownership increases with scale.

In the entry-level 'Single-property' tier, companies own just 39 properties, an 8.7% share, while individuals own 410 properties (91.3%). This highlights that most new landlords start as individuals.

As landlords grow their portfolios, the likelihood of incorporation rises. Company ownership climbs to 10.3% in the 'Two-property' tier, jumps significantly to 33.0% in the '3-5 property' tier, and reaches its highest observed point of 42.3% in the '6-10 property' tier.

Despite this trend, individual owners maintain a majority stake across all mom-and-pop tiers. Even among landlords with 6-10 properties, individuals own 15 homes versus 11 for companies.

The data indicates a clear professionalization curve. The operational complexity and liability protection needed for larger portfolios drive more investors to adopt a corporate structure, though individuals remain the foundation of the market.

Investor ownership in Johnston County is not evenly distributed, with specific zip codes attracting a high concentration of activity. The 73460 zip code (Tishomingo) is the epicenter of investor ownership by volume, containing 350 landlord-owned SFR properties.

However, the highest rates of investor penetration are found elsewhere. The 74836 zip code stands out with a 75.0% investor ownership rate, suggesting a market heavily skewed towards rental properties.

Other areas with high investor saturation include the 73455 zip code, where landlords own 41.2% of SFRs, and the 74856 zip code at 30.6%. These figures point to targeted investment strategies within micro-markets.

The zip code with the highest count of investor properties, 73460, has a significant but lower ownership rate of 27.9%. This demonstrates the difference between markets with a large total housing stock versus smaller ones with high investor saturation.

Understanding these geographic nuances is critical, as analyzing property datasets at the zip code level reveals distinct sub-markets with different investment profiles within the same county.

Investors in Johnston County are consistently expanding their portfolios, acting as strong net buyers. In the first quarter of 2026, they purchased 9 properties while selling only 2, resulting in a net gain of 7 properties and a buy-to-sell ratio of 4.5x.

This pattern of accumulation is not new; it continues a multi-year trend of aggressive acquisition. In 2025, landlords bought 32 homes and sold just 5 (a 6.4x ratio), and in 2024, they purchased 38 and sold 5 (a 7.6x ratio).

The sustained, high buy-to-sell ratio signals strong confidence in the local rental market and a long-term hold strategy among the county's investors.

The transaction data further confirms the absence of large-scale players. Institutional investors in the 1,000+ property tier were completely inactive, recording zero buy or sell transactions in any recent timeframe.

All market dynamism, including buying, selling, and setting price points, is being driven by the local, mom-and-pop investor segment.

Landlord purchasing accounted for a substantial portion of market activity in Q1 2026, with investors involved in 9 of the 22 total SFR transactions, a 40.9% share.

All 9 of these transactions were conducted by mom-and-pop investors, with zero activity from institutional tiers, mirroring their share of overall ownership.

A distinct pricing pattern emerged among buyers. The newest investors in the 'Single-property' tier paid the most, with an average purchase price of $131,333. This is significantly higher than the prices paid by more experienced small landlords in the 'Two-property' ($87,116) and '3-5 property' ($69,558) tiers.

This price difference suggests that smaller, newer investors may be less experienced at sourcing deals or are willing to pay a premium to enter the market, while established landlords secure better prices.

Inter-landlord trading is minimal. Only one of the nine investor purchases (11.1%) was acquired from another landlord. This indicates that investors are primarily sourcing their properties from the traditional homeowner market rather than from other investors.