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

In Moore County, TN, investors hold a significant 562 single-family residential properties, which constitutes a high 28.6% penetration of the total 1,965 SFRs in the market. This reveals a strong investor presence relative to the market's size.

The investor landscape is overwhelmingly dominated by individuals, who own 523 properties, or 93.1% of the entire investor portfolio. In contrast, company-owned properties number just 42, accounting for only 7.5%, underscoring the market's reliance on small-scale real estate investing.

This individual dominance is also reflected in the entity count, with 776 individual landlords compared to only 43 company landlords. This 18-to-1 ratio of individual-to-company entities highlights a market driven by local, small-scale participants rather than large corporations.

A strong preference for cash acquisitions is evident, with 434 properties (77.2%) held outright, while only 128 (22.8%) are financed. This suggests many investors have high liquidity and are possibly less leveraged than in other markets.

Analysis of property use confirms the investment focus, with 558 of the 562 properties classified as rented. This near-total rental concentration (99.3%) shows that the portfolio is actively used for generating rental income, not for speculation or personal use.

In Q1 2026, landlords demonstrated remarkable purchasing efficiency, acquiring properties for an average price of $249,500. This represents a substantial 36.8% discount compared to the $394,848 average paid by traditional homeowners, saving them an average of $145,348 per transaction.

The price gap between landlords and homeowners has been highly volatile, swinging from a landlord premium to a deep discount. For instance, in Q3 2025, landlords paid a 25.9% premium ($92,367 more than homeowners), while in Q1 2026, they secured a 36.8% discount. This volatility is characteristic of a market with low transaction volumes, where a few deals can significantly skew averages.

Historical pricing data shows significant fluctuation. The average acquisition price during the 2020-2023 boom years was $471,256, while the 2024 average was $459,313. The most recent quarterly price of $249,500 is a sharp deviation, suggesting either a shift in the type of assets being acquired or an outlier due to low volume.

The sparse transaction data, with zero landlord properties purchased in several recent quarters, indicates an opportunistic rather than a high-velocity acquisition strategy. Investors in Moore County appear to wait for specific opportunities rather than buying consistently each quarter.

Investor activity accounted for 26.3% of the Moore County market in Q4 2025, with landlords purchasing 5 of the 19 total SFRs sold. This demonstrates a continued and significant share of acquisition activity by investors.

The quarter's purchasing activity was exclusively driven by mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties), who were responsible for 100% of investor acquisitions. Institutional investors with over 1,000 properties made no purchases, reinforcing the small-investor character of this market.

New entrants were a key driver of activity, with 5 new entities buying 3 single-property homes. This represents 60% of all investor-purchased properties for the quarter, signaling healthy market entry at the smallest scale.

The remaining activity came from the 6-10 property tier, where 2 entities acquired 2 properties. This concentration of all buying within the smallest tiers (Tier 01 and 04) highlights the absence of mid-size and large investors in the current buying landscape.

The investor market in Moore County is the definition of a mom-and-pop landscape, with landlords owning 1-10 properties (Tiers 01-04) controlling 99.3% of all investor-held SFRs. This near-total dominance by small investors is a defining characteristic of the local market.

Single-property landlords (Tier 01) form the bedrock of the market, owning 514 properties. This single tier accounts for a remarkable 89.4% of all investor-owned housing, indicating that the vast majority of landlords are just starting or maintain a very small portfolio.

The ownership concentration drops off sharply after the first tier. Two-property landlords hold 29 properties (5.0%), and those with 3-5 properties hold 25 (4.3%). All other tiers combined represent less than 1% of the total investor portfolio.

In stark contrast to national headlines, institutional investors (1,000+ properties) have no presence in Moore County, with 0.0% ownership. This market has not attracted large-scale corporate investment, remaining entirely in the hands of smaller players.

Individual investors are the dominant force across every single ownership tier in Moore County. In the largest tier, single-property owners, individuals hold 481 homes (93.0%) compared to just 36 for companies (7.0%). This pattern continues up the scale, showcasing a market completely controlled by private individuals.

Unlike larger metropolitan markets, Moore County has no 'crossover point' where companies become the majority owners. For instance, in the 3-5 property tier, individuals still own 92.0% of the assets, and even in the 6-10 property tier, they maintain a 66.7% majority.

Company ownership is minimal and scattered. Companies own just 2 properties in the 2-property tier (6.9%) and 2 in the 3-5 property tier (8.0%), failing to establish a significant foothold at any portfolio size.

The data clearly indicates that as investors in Moore County grow their portfolios, they tend to do so as individuals rather than forming corporate entities. This structural difference highlights a market with different motivations and capital sources than more corporate-heavy areas.

Investor activity in Moore County is geographically hyper-concentrated within the 37352 zip code. This single area contains 376 investor-owned properties, representing 66.9% of the county's entire investor portfolio and boasting an investor ownership rate of 34.1%.

High investor penetration is a key theme in specific neighborhoods. Four different zip codes show an investor ownership rate of 30% or higher: 37352 (34.1%), 37306 (33.3%), 37160 (31.9%), and 37359 (30.0%). This suggests targeted investment in very specific communities.

The top five zip codes by investor-owned property count contain 526 of the 562 total properties, meaning 93.6% of all investor activity is confined to these few areas. This intense clustering points to a localized investment strategy based on deep neighborhood knowledge.

There is significant overlap between the leaders in raw count and ownership percentage. TN-Moore-37352, TN-Moore-37160, and TN-Moore-37334 appear on both top-five lists, indicating these are the primary zones of high-volume and high-density investment.

Landlords in Moore County are aggressively expanding their portfolios, demonstrating a clear net-buyer position. In 2025, they purchased 46 properties while selling only 2, resulting in a net gain of 44 homes and a buy-to-sell ratio of 23-to-1.

This trend of accumulation is not new. In 2024, landlords also acted as strong net buyers, acquiring 30 properties and selling just 8 for a net gain of 22 properties. This consistent, multi-year pattern signals strong confidence in the local rental market.

The most recent data from Q3 2025 continues this pattern, with 5 properties bought and 2 sold. This sustained net acquisition activity shows no signs of slowing down, indicating that landlords are in a growth phase.

No data is available for institutional transactions, which aligns with their 0.0% ownership in the county. The entire transaction market is being driven by the buying and selling activities of smaller, individual landlords.

In Q1 2026, landlords participated in 8 of the 32 total SFR transactions in Moore County, capturing a 25.0% share of market activity. This demonstrates continued, steady acquisition by investors.

A notable event in the quarter was a single transaction by an institutional-tier (1,000+) entity. This is significant as there is currently no institutional ownership in the county, suggesting this may be the first purchase by a new large-scale investor entering the market.

This institutional buyer employed a distinct pricing strategy, paying $155,493 for their property. This is 45.4% less than the $285,000 average paid by single-property landlords, indicating a focus on a different class of asset, possibly distressed or in a lower-value area.

The market for landlord-to-landlord sales appears nonexistent in Q1. Zero percent of landlord purchases came from other landlords, meaning all acquisitions were sourced from traditional homeowners or other seller types. This indicates low churn within the existing investor community.

Mom-and-pop investors drove transaction volume, with single-property buyers conducting 5 transactions and small landlords (6-10 properties) conducting 2. These small players continue to be the most active participants in the market.