Franklin (TN) Investor Pulse Report (2026-Q1)

Investors hold a significant 27.3% share of the single-family residential market in Franklin County, owning 4,222 of the 15,476 total SFR properties.

The ownership landscape is overwhelmingly controlled by individuals rather than corporations. Individual investors own 3,825 properties (90.6%), while companies own just 450 (10.7%), challenging the narrative of corporate dominance in real estate investing.

The investor landlord base mirrors this trend, with 5,095 individual landlords compared to only 379 company entities, a ratio of more than 13 to 1.

Investors in this market demonstrate a preference for low leverage, with cash purchases (3,252 properties) vastly outnumbering financed ones (970 properties). This suggests a financially stable investor base less susceptible to interest rate fluctuations.

The portfolio is almost entirely dedicated to rentals, with 4,176 properties (98.9%) listed as rented, underscoring the deep and established nature of the local rental market.

Investor purchasing power was on full display in Q1 2026, with landlords paying an average of just $183,826 per property compared to $364,038 for traditional homeowners. This 49.5% discount, valued at $180,212, signals a strong ability to find and secure undervalued assets.

The significant Q1 discount represents a sharp strategic pivot or market shift. It follows three consecutive quarters in 2025 where investors paid a premium, including a 4.1% premium in Q2 ($412,360 vs $395,972) and a 21.9% premium in Q3 ($469,109 vs $384,865).

This pricing volatility suggests that Franklin County investors are highly opportunistic, possibly targeting distressed properties in some periods while competing for premium homes in others.

Overall acquisition prices for landlords have cooled recently. The average purchase price in 2025 ($394,997) was lower than in 2024 ($423,633), indicating a potential normalization after the market heat of previous years.

Investors maintained a strong presence in the market, purchasing 47 of the 171 homes sold in Q4 2025, which represents a 27.5% market share.

The acquisition activity was dominated by small-scale investors. Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) were responsible for 41 of the 47 purchases, or 87.2% of the investor total, reinforcing their role as the primary engine of market growth.

A significant wave of new investors entered the market, with 40 distinct entities purchasing their first rental property. This group alone accounted for 30 of the 47 total investor acquisitions (63.8%).

Institutional investors were entirely absent from the market in Q4, making zero purchases. This lack of activity underscores the hyperlocal, small-investor character of Franklin County.

Beyond new entrants, mid-size landlords in the 11-50 property tiers also expanded their portfolios, acquiring a combined 6 properties and demonstrating growth across multiple smaller segments.

The investor landscape in Franklin County is defined by the dominance of small landlords. Investors with 1-10 properties (Tiers 01-04) collectively own 98.0% of all investor-held SFRs, a figure that leaves little room for larger players.

Single-property landlords form the bedrock of the market, owning 3,523 properties, which accounts for 80.8% of the entire investor portfolio on its own.

Institutional capital is virtually non-existent. The 1000+ property tier holds a mere 4 properties, representing just 0.1% of the investor-owned housing stock and confirming that this is not a target market for large-scale operators.

Ownership concentration dissipates quickly as portfolio size increases. Mid-size landlords (11-100 properties) collectively own just 1.7% of the properties, further highlighting the market's fragmented nature.

This distribution reveals a highly decentralized rental market, powered by thousands of local owners rather than a handful of large corporations, which can influence local housing stability and landlord-tenant relationships.

Individual investors retain majority ownership across every single portfolio tier, a unique characteristic of the Franklin County market. Even as portfolios grow, individuals never cede control to companies.

The share of company ownership increases with portfolio size up to a point, peaking at 38.5% in the 6-10 property tier. This suggests that as investors grow, some professionalize by forming an LLC for liability protection.

Interestingly, the company ownership share declines in the 11-20 property tier to 27.5%, indicating that larger individual landlords in this market are comfortable holding properties in their own name.

At the entry level, individual ownership is at its peak. In the single-property tier, individuals own 3,287 of the 3,563 properties, a staggering 92.3% share, which aligns with the influx of new individual investors seen in recent transaction data.

This data confirms that the path to building a larger rental portfolio in this market does not necessarily require incorporation, with seasoned individual landlords holding significant portfolios personally.

A geographic analysis reveals specific pockets of high investor concentration. The 37330 zip code is the largest hub for investor ownership by sheer volume, with 656 properties.

The data clearly distinguishes between areas with the highest count of investor properties and those with the highest penetration rate. Zip code 37356 has the highest ownership rate at 51.2%, meaning investors own more than half of the SFRs, making it a majority-renter market.

Following 37356, the zip codes with the next highest ownership rates are 37375 (44.7%) and 37352 (37.5%), indicating several areas where investor presence is extremely strong relative to the market size.

The top three zip codes by property count (37330, 37324, and 37318) collectively account for 1,339 investor-owned properties, representing nearly a third of the entire investor portfolio in the county.

This geographic clustering shows that investors are not evenly distributed but focus on specific communities, which has profound implications for local housing dynamics and rental availability.

Investors in Franklin County are in a phase of active accumulation, consistently buying far more properties than they sell. In Q1 2026, they purchased 60 SFRs while selling only 18, demonstrating strong confidence in the local market.

This pattern of net acquisition is a multi-year trend. In 2025, landlords achieved a buy-to-sell ratio of 4.1 to 1 (379 buys vs. 93 sells), nearly identical to the 4.2 to 1 ratio in 2024 (322 buys vs. 77 sells).

The transaction volume for institutional investors (1000+ tier) is minimal, confirming their sideline status. With a net gain of only one property in 2025 (3 buys, 2 sells) and one in 2024 (4 buys, 3 sells), their impact on market liquidity is negligible.

The sustained and high-velocity net buying from the broader landlord community signals a robust and growing rental market, fueled by a continuous inflow of local and regional capital.

This contrasts with trends in other markets where institutional players are divesting. In Franklin County, the small investors who dominate ownership are also the ones most actively increasing their holdings.

In Q1 2026, landlords represented nearly a quarter of all transaction activity, purchasing 60 of the 256 total SFRs sold.

A clear pricing pattern emerged based on investor experience. New landlords in the single-property tier paid an average of $214,756, one of the highest prices. In contrast, more established mid-tier landlords (6-20 properties) found significant bargains, paying an average of just $73,750 to $75,000.

This price discrepancy suggests that experienced local investors have a distinct advantage in sourcing undervalued or off-market properties, while new entrants are more likely to compete in the open market.

Inter-landlord transactions vary significantly by tier. Landlords with two properties were the most likely to acquire an existing rental, with 50.0% of their purchases coming from another landlord. This indicates a strategy of buying turn-key rental assets.

Conversely, new single-property investors rarely bought from other landlords (a 7.5% rate), indicating they are primarily acquiring properties from traditional homeowners and contributing new housing stock to the rental market.