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

Investors have a significant footprint in Murray County, owning 1,184 single-family residential properties, which constitutes 28.3% of the total 4,185 SFRs in the market.

The ownership structure is overwhelmingly composed of small, individual investors. Individuals own 936 properties, making up 79.1% of the investor-owned portfolio, compared to 255 properties (21.5%) owned by companies.

A striking financial characteristic of this market is the preference for cash ownership. Landlords own 947 properties outright with cash, compared to just 237 that are financed, indicating a financially stable and low-leverage investor base.

The portfolio is almost entirely dedicated to rentals, with 1,150 of the 1,184 properties (97.1%) being non-owner-occupied. This confirms a clear focus on generating rental income rather than short-term speculation.

On average, company landlords hold slightly larger portfolios (1.71 properties per entity) than individual landlords (0.79 properties per entity), reflecting a tendency to incorporate as portfolio size increases.

Landlords demonstrated remarkable purchasing power in Q1 2026, acquiring properties for an average price of $128,417. This was a substantial 36.5% less than the $202,109 paid by traditional homeowners, saving investors an average of $73,692 per home.

The pricing advantage for investors has been exceptionally volatile over the past year. The Q1 2026 discount is a dramatic reversal from Q1 2025, when landlords paid a 30.0% premium, or $58,992 more than homeowners, for properties.

This quarter-over-quarter fluctuation is significant. After paying a premium in Q1 2025, landlords secured a marginal 0.8% discount in Q2, which then ballooned to a 38.3% discount in Q3 before settling at the current 36.5% level.

The data indicates a market where investors can opportunistically acquire properties at deep discounts, but this advantage is not consistent. The shift from paying a premium to securing a major discount suggests a change in either inventory, deal-sourcing strategy, or negotiation power.

In Q4 2025, investors were a significant force in the market, purchasing 6 of the 30 total SFRs sold, capturing a 20.0% market share of all acquisitions.

The entirety of this purchasing activity came from small-scale investors. Mom-and-pop landlords, defined as those owning 1-10 properties, accounted for 100% of the 6 properties acquired by investors.

Institutional investors with portfolios of 1,000 or more properties had no purchasing activity in the county, underscoring the market's local, small-investor character.

The market continues to attract new entrants. Two new single-property landlords made their first purchases in Q4, representing a third of all active landlord entities and acquiring two of the six properties bought by investors.

Acquisition activity was distributed across the smallest tiers, with 2 properties bought by single-property landlords, 1 by a two-property landlord, 2 by landlords with 3-5 properties, and 1 by a landlord with 6-10 properties.

The investor landscape in Murray County is unequivocally dominated by small landlords. Those owning 1-10 properties (Tiers 01-04) collectively control 93.0% of all investor-owned single-family homes.

The market is highly fragmented, with the smallest tier of single-property landlords representing the largest single group. This tier alone accounts for 796 properties, or 64.6% of the total investor portfolio.

As portfolio sizes increase, the number of properties drops off sharply. Landlords with 2 properties hold 9.4% of the market, while those with 3-5 properties hold 12.9%.

Mid-size investors (11-1,000 properties) own the remaining 7.0% of the portfolio, highlighting a significant gap between the small landlord base and larger operators.

There is a complete absence of large-scale institutional ownership. Investors in the 1,000+ property tier hold 0.0% of the market, reinforcing the narrative that this is a classic mom-and-pop rental market where deep local knowledge may be a competitive advantage. Finding these owners often requires access to detailed assessor data.

A distinct pattern emerges when analyzing ownership by entity type across portfolio sizes. While individuals own the vast majority of smaller portfolios, companies take control as landlords scale up.

Individuals overwhelmingly dominate the entry-level tiers, owning 89.8% of single-property portfolios and 78.4% of two-property portfolios.

The crossover point occurs in the 6-10 property tier. At this level, company ownership jumps to a 59.2% majority, while individual ownership falls to 40.8%. This suggests that landlords tend to incorporate their holdings for liability or financial reasons once they reach this size.

This trend continues into the next tier (11-20 properties), where companies maintain their majority with 52.1% of property ownership.

This data clearly illustrates the lifecycle of a growing real estate investor, beginning as an individual and formalizing into a corporate structure as their portfolio expands beyond a handful of properties.

The investor market in Murray County is not evenly distributed; instead, it is highly concentrated in specific geographic pockets. Just two zip codes, 73086 and 73030, contain the vast majority of investment properties.

Together, these two areas account for a combined 1,163 of the 1,184 investor-owned SFRs in the county. This represents an astonishing 98.2% concentration, defining them as the clear nexus of rental activity.

Zip code 73086 is the epicenter, with 828 investor-owned properties and a high ownership rate of 29.4%. Following is 73030, with 335 properties and a 27.0% ownership rate.

While other zip codes show high percentage rates of investor ownership, their total property counts are minimal. For instance, 73444 has the highest rate at 33.3%, but this is based on a very small number of total homes, making it statistically less significant than the high-count, high-rate areas.

This geographic clustering indicates that investors are targeting specific neighborhoods, likely driven by factors like proximity to amenities, school districts, or established rental demand.

Transaction history reveals a clear and consistent strategy of portfolio growth among Murray County landlords. For the last several years, they have been aggressive net buyers of residential property.

In the full year of 2025, investors demonstrated a strong accumulation trend with 67 purchases against only 11 sales. This equates to a buy-to-sell ratio of 6.09x, meaning they acquired more than six homes for every one they sold.

This pattern was even more pronounced in 2024, which saw 99 landlord purchases and only 16 sales, for a net gain of 83 properties and a ratio of 6.19x.

While still in accumulation mode, the pace has moderated slightly in the most recent quarter. In Q1 2026, landlords bought 6 properties and sold 4, a ratio of 1.5x, which is significantly lower than prior years but still represents a net positive acquisition.

The consistent net buying behavior signals strong confidence in the local rental market and a long-term hold strategy among the county's investor base.

In the first quarter of 2026, landlords participated in 6 of the 51 total single-family home transactions, accounting for an 11.8% share of market activity.

All investor-involved transactions were driven by mom-and-pop landlords. Tiers 01-04 were responsible for 100% of this activity, with zero transactions recorded by mid-size or institutional investors.

The data reveals some liquidity within the investor community itself. One of the six transactions (16.7%) was a landlord-to-landlord sale, where a landlord in the 6-10 property tier purchased a home from another investor.

Purchase prices varied significantly across the small tiers, though the low transaction volume makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions. The two purchases in the 3-5 property tier averaged just $67,500, while the single purchase in the 6-10 property tier was $175,500.

New, single-property landlords were the most active group by transaction count, making two purchases at an average price of $150,000, signaling continued new investment in the area.