Cameron (PA) Investor Pulse Report (2026-Q1)

Investors hold a significant 24.7% share of the Single-Family Residential market in Cameron County, PA, controlling 459 out of 1,857 total SFR properties.

The market is overwhelmingly dominated by individual investors, who own 399 properties, or 86.9% of the landlord portfolio, compared to just 62 properties (13.5%) owned by companies.

A defining feature of this market is the complete absence of financing; 100% of the 459 investor-owned properties are held in cash, signaling a reliance on private capital rather than traditional lending.

This investor base is heavily focused on rentals, with 451 properties, or 98.3% of the total investor portfolio, being non-owner-occupied.

The ownership structure consists of 494 distinct landlords, with 462 being individuals and only 32 being companies, reinforcing the 'mom-and-pop' character of real estate investing in the county.

In a significant deviation from typical market behavior, landlords in Cameron County, PA paid a premium for properties in Q1 2026. The average landlord acquisition price was $100,000, which is $25,000, or 33.3%, higher than the traditional homeowner price of $75,000.

Recent acquisition activity has been extremely low, with data showing zero properties purchased by landlords in Q1 2026 and Q4 2025, suggesting a market pause or very infrequent transactions.

Despite the recent slowdown, property values have appreciated significantly over the long term. The average price in 2024 was $109,583, a 50.4% increase from the 2020-2023 average of $72,866.

The limited transaction data highlights the market's illiquidity and makes it difficult to establish consistent pricing trends, with the Q1 2026 premium being a notable outlier.

The investor purchase market in Cameron County, PA was completely inactive in the fourth quarter of 2025, with landlords acquiring zero properties.

This inactivity extended across the entire market, as the total number of SFR purchases recorded was zero, resulting in a 0.0% market share for investors.

As a result of the market freeze, no new landlords entered the market, and there was no acquisition activity from any investor segment, from single-property owners to large institutions.

Both 'mom-and-pop' landlords (Tiers 01-04) and institutional investors (Tier 09) registered zero purchases, reflecting a widespread pause in transaction volume.

The lack of quarterly activity underscores the county's status as a market with low transaction velocity, where buying and selling by investors is infrequent.

The investor landscape in Cameron County, PA is defined by small-scale owners, with 'mom-and-pop' landlords (portfolios of 1-10 properties) controlling 94.7% of all investor-held SFRs.

Single-property landlords are the bedrock of the market, owning 359 properties and making up 76.5% of the total investor portfolio, highlighting the prevalence of first-time or small investors.

Ownership is highly concentrated at the smallest end of the scale, with Tiers 1-3 (1-5 properties) collectively owning 94.7% of all investor properties.

There is no institutional investor presence in Cameron County; Tier 09 (1000+ properties) holds zero properties, representing 0.0% of the market.

The largest active investors fall into the small-medium categories, with those owning 11-20 properties controlling 3.4% of the inventory and those with 21-50 properties holding just 1.9%.

Individual investors form the foundation of the market, owning 93.9% of single-property portfolios and 74.5% of portfolios with 3-5 properties.

A clear crossover point occurs as portfolio sizes increase. While individuals dominate smaller tiers, companies become the majority owners in portfolios of 11 or more properties.

In the 11-20 property tier, companies own 14 properties, representing an 87.5% majority share within that segment.

This trend of company dominance continues into the 21-50 property tier, where companies control 8 properties, or 88.9% of the real estate in that bracket.

This data reveals a distinct market structure: individuals fuel the entry-level and small-portfolio segment, while entities structured as companies are responsible for building larger, mid-size rental portfolios in the county.

Investor ownership in Cameron County, PA is geographically concentrated in just a few areas, with the zip code 15834 accounting for the vast majority of activity with 397 investor-owned properties.

The highest rate of investor penetration is found in zip code 15861, where landlords own 46.4% of the 26 SFR properties, indicating a highly saturated rental submarket.

Zip code 15832 also shows significant investor presence, with a 26.7% ownership rate across 31 investor-held properties.

A distinction exists between areas with high counts versus high rates; 15834 leads by volume, but smaller zips like 15861 exhibit a much higher density of investor ownership relative to their total housing stock.

All top reported zip codes, including 16720 (23.8%), show investor ownership rates well above 20%, pointing to specific neighborhoods being favored for rental investment.

There is no available historical transaction data for landlords in Cameron County, PA, which points to a market with very low liquidity and infrequent sales activity among investors.

The lack of data means it is not possible to determine if landlords have historically been net buyers or net sellers in this market.

Similarly, an analysis of landlord-to-landlord transactions cannot be performed, obscuring the level of internal market churn.

Average buy and sell prices over time are unavailable, preventing an assessment of historical profit margins or pricing strategies.

This data gap extends to institutional investors (1000+ tier), for whom no transaction history is recorded, consistent with their 0.0% ownership stake in the county.

The first quarter of 2026 saw a complete standstill in the Cameron County, PA real estate market, with zero total SFR transactions recorded.

As a result, landlords' share of transactions was 0.0%, reflecting a total absence of buying or selling activity from the investor community.

This market-wide freeze means there were no transactions to analyze by investor tier, from mom-and-pop to institutional owners.

No inter-landlord trading occurred, as the 0% 'Bought From Landlords' rate indicates no properties were exchanged between investors during the quarter.

The lack of sales prevents any analysis of Q1 purchase prices by tier, further highlighting the extremely low transaction velocity in this market.