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

In Knox County, TN, landlords hold a significant 17.7% of the market, with a total portfolio of 28,196 single-family residential properties. This demonstrates a substantial presence of real estate investing activity within the local housing ecosystem.

Ownership is heavily skewed towards individuals, who own 21,884 properties, accounting for 77.6% of the investor-owned market. Companies own the remaining 6,781 properties (24.0%), highlighting that the market is driven by smaller-scale operators rather than large corporations.

The entity count further reinforces the dominance of individual investors. There are 27,409 individual landlords compared to just 2,785 company landlords, a nearly 10-to-1 ratio. This structure indicates a highly fragmented market with a low barrier to entry.

A clear preference for cash acquisitions is evident, with 18,976 properties held free and clear, more than double the 9,220 properties that are financed. This suggests many investors have significant capital and may be less sensitive to interest rate fluctuations.

The primary use for these properties is rental income, as 27,446 of the 28,196 investor-owned homes are rented. This high rental concentration underscores the critical role investors play in providing housing supply for the local rental market.

Investors in Knox County consistently purchase properties at a significant discount compared to traditional homeowners. In the first quarter of 2026, landlords paid an average of $367,146, which is 24.1% or $116,315 less than the $483,461 paid by homeowners. This pricing power highlights a key strategic advantage for investors.

The price gap between landlords and homeowners has been a persistent market feature, though its magnitude fluctuates. The 24.1% discount in Q1 2026 is a narrowing from the peak discount of 35.0% ($174,108) seen in Q2 2025, suggesting a more competitive purchasing environment.

Acquisition prices have shown strong appreciation since the pandemic era. The average price paid by landlords in Q1 2026 ($367,146) marks a 24.4% increase over the average price from 2020-2023 ($295,029), reflecting broad market valuation growth.

Comparing year-over-year trends, the average landlord purchase price in 2025 was $348,247, slightly below the 2024 average of $356,932. This indicates a period of price moderation before the increase seen in early 2026.

The consistent ability of landlords to acquire properties below the typical market rate paid by homeowners suggests sophisticated acquisition strategies, such as off-market deal sourcing or targeting properties that require renovation, allowing them to build equity immediately upon purchase.

Investor activity accounted for a substantial portion of the Knox County housing market in Q4 2025, with landlords purchasing 363 of the 1,532 total SFRs sold, a market share of 23.7%. This level of activity underscores their role as a consistent source of demand.

The bulk of purchasing power comes from small-scale investors. Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) collectively bought 328 properties, representing 85.9% of all investor acquisitions for the quarter. This demonstrates that the market's velocity is driven by local, smaller operators.

First-time or single-property investors were the most active group, with 297 distinct entities purchasing 223 properties. This tier alone accounted for 58.4% of all properties bought by investors, signaling a healthy influx of new participants into the rental market.

In stark contrast, institutional investors with portfolios over 1,000 properties had a minimal impact, purchasing only 8 homes. This represents just 2.1% of investor activity, challenging the narrative that large corporations are dominating the purchasing landscape.

Mid-size landlords (11-100 properties) also played a role, acquiring a combined 36 properties. However, their 9.4% share of purchases remains significantly smaller than the share controlled by mom-and-pop investors, reinforcing the market's fragmented nature.

The ownership structure of rental properties in Knox County is overwhelmingly dominated by small-scale, mom-and-pop landlords. Investors holding 1-10 properties (Tiers 01-04) own a combined 88.3% of all investor-held SFRs, making them the backbone of the local rental market.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) are the largest single group, owning 18,893 properties, which translates to 64.4% of the entire investor portfolio. This highlights the decentralized nature of rental ownership in the region.

Conversely, institutional investors (Tier 09, 1,000+ properties) have a very limited footprint, controlling just 559 properties or 1.9% of the investor market. This finding directly counters the common perception of large corporations controlling the housing market.

The remaining 9.8% of investor properties are held by mid-to-large landlords with portfolios ranging from 11 to 1,000 homes. While more consolidated than the mom-and-pop segment, these investors still represent a small fraction of the overall market.

This distribution, detailed in the property ownership by owner type report, shows a highly fragmented market where individual and small business decisions collectively shape rental availability and pricing, rather than strategies directed by a few large entities.

A clear pattern emerges in ownership structure as portfolio sizes increase: individuals dominate the smaller end of the market, while companies control the larger portfolios. Individual investors own 91.0% of single-property holdings and 79.9% of two-property portfolios.

The crossover point where corporate ownership becomes dominant occurs in the 6-10 property tier. At this level, companies own 810 properties (53.6%) compared to the 702 (46.4%) owned by individuals. This signals a shift toward more formalized business structures as operational complexity grows.

Beyond the 10-property mark, company ownership becomes increasingly concentrated. In the 11-20 property tier, companies hold a 70.9% majority, which grows to 79.7% in the 21-50 property tier.

This trend culminates in the 101-1,000 property tier, where company ownership is nearly absolute at 99.4%. This indicates that scaling a rental portfolio to this level almost universally requires a corporate legal structure for financing, liability, and operational purposes.

This division shows two distinct investor paths: the individual landlord, who typically manages a small number of properties, and the professional real estate company, which leverages a corporate framework to build and manage larger, more complex portfolios.

Investor activity in Knox County is highly concentrated in specific zip codes. The 37920 area has the highest absolute number of investor-owned properties at 3,358, which represents 23.1% of that area's housing stock.

Following closely in volume are 37917 (2,727 properties), 37918 (2,476 properties), and 37921 (2,294 properties). These five top zip codes by count collectively house a significant portion of the county's rental inventory, revealing key submarkets for investors.

When analyzing by ownership rate, a different picture emerges. The 37916 zip code has the highest investor penetration by a wide margin, with 70.1% of its SFRs owned by landlords. This suggests a market almost entirely defined by rental housing.

Other zip codes with high investor ownership rates include 37915 (40.4%), 37709 (35.1%), and 37902 (30.3%). These areas of high saturation often correspond to proximity to universities, hospitals, or downtown cores where rental demand is strongest.

The divergence between the leaders in raw count versus percentage highlights different investment strategies. Some investors target larger, more populous zip codes for scale, while others focus on smaller neighborhoods where they can achieve a dominant market share.

Landlords in Knox County are actively expanding their portfolios, consistently buying more properties than they sell. In Q1 2026, they demonstrated strong bullish sentiment with a net acquisition of 339 properties (467 buys vs. 128 sells).

This net buyer behavior is not a new phenomenon. Transaction data from previous periods shows a persistent pattern of accumulation. In 2025, landlords added a net 1,140 properties to their holdings, and in 2024, they added a net 1,456 properties.

The institutional tier (1,000+ properties), though small, is also in a growth phase. In Q1 2026, these large investors were net buyers, acquiring 8 properties while selling only 1. This mirrors their activity in 2025, when they added a net of 74 properties to their portfolios.

The steady pace of acquisition across all investor types signals strong confidence in the Knox County rental market's future performance. This ongoing absorption of housing stock by investors has significant implications for both rental supply and for-sale inventory available to traditional homeowners.

The consistent positive net acquisition numbers over multiple years suggest a long-term strategic commitment to the region by both small and large investors. This contrasts with markets where investors might be liquidating portfolios, indicating stability and perceived opportunity in Knox County.

In the first quarter of 2026, investors were a driving force in the market, participating in 467 of the 2,198 total SFR transactions, which constitutes a 21.2% market share. This highlights their significant role in market liquidity and price discovery.

Transaction activity was heavily concentrated among mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04), who were responsible for 407 of the 467 investor transactions. New, single-property investors were the most active, conducting 297 transactions alone.

A notable pricing disparity exists between the smallest and largest investors. Single-property buyers paid the highest average price at $364,425. In contrast, institutional investors (1,000+ tier) paid an average of $335,649, securing a 7.9% discount relative to their smallest counterparts, likely due to scale or targeting different asset types.

Inter-landlord trading is a feature of the market, particularly for new entrants. Of the 297 purchases made by single-property landlords, 46 (15.5%) were acquired from other investors. This suggests that a portion of new landlords enter the market by acquiring existing, stabilized rental properties.

The highest average purchase price in Q1 was recorded by medium-large landlords (51-100 tier) at $502,297, while the lowest was seen in the large tier (101-1000) at $172,769. This wide price variance across tiers indicates highly specialized acquisition strategies targeting different property classes and neighborhoods.