Door (WI) Investor Pulse Report (2025-Q4)

Investor ownership is a significant force in Door County, with landlords holding 6,169 SFR properties, which comprises a substantial 37.0% of the total market of 16,673 homes.

Individual investors are the primary drivers of this market, owning 4,671 properties. This accounts for 75.7% of all investor-owned SFRs, while companies own the remaining 1,636 properties (26.5%).

The landlord landscape is similarly dominated by individuals, with 6,583 individual landlords compared to 1,600 company landlords, a ratio of over 4-to-1.

Cash is overwhelmingly the preferred method of acquisition in Door County. A massive 94.4% of the investor-owned portfolio (5,826 properties) is held in cash, compared to only 5.6% (343 properties) being financed.

The portfolio is heavily geared towards rental income, with 6,113 properties, or 99.1% of all investor-owned homes, classified as rented, signaling a clear focus on long-term holds.

In a notable market shift, landlords in Door County paid more than traditional homeowners in Q4 2025, with an average acquisition price of $512,071 compared to the homeowner average of $497,249. This represents a $14,822 premium, or 3.0% more per property.

This Q4 premium marks a dramatic reversal from trends earlier in the year. In Q2 and Q1 of 2025, landlords enjoyed significant discounts of 18.0% ($88,023) and 18.3% ($75,101) respectively, paying tens of thousands less than homeowners.

The pricing swing is pronounced and signals a highly competitive market for investors at the end of the year, a stark contrast to the buyer's advantage seen in the first half.

The third quarter of 2025 saw an even larger premium, with landlords paying $542,315 on average—a 14.1% premium over homeowners, or an extra $67,177 per property.

Comparing recent activity to the pandemic-era boom (2020-2023), the average Q4 2025 landlord acquisition price of $512,071 is 25.8% higher than the $407,042 average from that period, signaling significant price appreciation in the market.

Investors were a major force in the Door County housing market in Q4 2025, purchasing 20 of the 55 single-family residential properties sold and capturing a 36.4% market share of all acquisitions.

The entirety of this Q4 buying activity was driven by small-scale, mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties), who accounted for 100% of all investor purchases. Institutional investors with over 1,000 properties were completely absent from the buying market.

New market entrants dominated activity, with the single-property tier alone responsible for 18 of the 20 investor purchases (90.0%). This activity was driven by 21 distinct new landlord entities, signaling a fresh wave of small-scale investment.

The data highlights a highly fragmented and localized investor base, with no acquisitions made by mid-size or large-scale landlords during the quarter.

The remaining 10.0% of landlord purchases were made by investors in the two-property tier, further reinforcing the dominance of small-scale players in the current market.

The investor landscape in Door County is defined by small-scale ownership, with mom-and-pop landlords (owning 1-10 properties) controlling a staggering 99.9% of all investor-held SFRs.

Single-property landlords form the backbone of the market, holding 5,618 properties, which accounts for 88.4% of the entire investor portfolio. This highlights the market's highly fragmented nature.

In stark contrast, institutional investors (1,000+ properties) have virtually no footprint in the county, owning just 2 properties, which rounds to 0.0% of the investor market share.

The concentration at the small end of the scale is immense; landlords with 1-5 properties collectively own 6,329 homes, or 99.6% of the total investor-owned stock.

Mid-size investors are also exceedingly rare, with only 3 properties in total held by landlords in the 11-1000 property tiers, further underscoring that Door County is not a target for large-scale portfolio aggregation.

Individual investors maintain a strong majority ownership across all small landlord tiers in Door County, demonstrating their foundational role in the local rental market.

In the largest tier, single-property landlords, individuals own 4,276 properties (74.5%) compared to 1,462 for companies. This pattern holds true across other tiers, with individuals owning 73.8% of two-property portfolios and 81.1% of portfolios with 3-5 properties.

Unlike in larger metropolitan markets, there is no crossover point where companies become the majority owners. Even in the 6-10 property tier, individuals still hold a 65.2% majority.

Company ownership shows a slight increase in concentration as portfolio sizes grow, from 25.5% in the single-property tier to 34.8% in the 6-10 property tier, but they remain the minority owner throughout.

This data reinforces that the investor market in Door County is characterized by local, individual ownership rather than corporate consolidation.

Investor ownership in Door County is highly concentrated, with the 54235 zip code alone accounting for 2,295 investor-owned properties, nearly 3.3 times more than the next highest area.

While 54235 leads in volume, it has a more moderate investor ownership rate of 27.9%. Other zip codes show much higher market penetration, led by 54211, where investors own a commanding 69.7% of all SFR properties.

A cluster of zip codes demonstrates extremely high investor saturation, with rates exceeding 50%. These include 54210 (53.9%), 54246 (53.5%), 54212 (52.9%), and 54202 (52.3%).

The top five regions by sheer count (54235, 54202, 54234, 54210, 54212) collectively hold 4,695 properties, representing 76.1% of all investor-owned SFRs in the county.

This geographical analysis reveals distinct patterns: one area (54235) serves as the volume hub, while several smaller areas exhibit the highest density of investor control, suggesting different market dynamics at play across the county.

In 2024, landlords in Door County were overwhelmingly net buyers, demonstrating a strong appetite for portfolio growth. They purchased 426 SFR properties while only selling 25 throughout the year.

This imbalance reveals a powerful accumulation trend, with a buy-to-sell ratio of approximately 17-to-1. For every property an investor sold, 17 more were acquired by other investors.

The net gain of 401 properties to landlord portfolios in a single year indicates significant capital deployment and a bullish outlook on the local real estate market.

Data on institutional-level transactions was not available, but the overall market trend is clearly one of expansion driven by the broader investor community.

The low sales volume suggests that existing landlords are adopting a long-term hold strategy, choosing to retain assets rather than divest, which tightens the available inventory for other buyers.

Investors played a significant role in Q4 market liquidity, participating in 23 of the 72 total SFR transactions, which constitutes a 31.9% share of all market activity.

The entire volume of landlord transactions was driven by small-scale mom-and-pop investors, with 21 transactions from the single-property tier and 2 from the two-property tier. Institutional investors recorded zero transactions.

A clear pricing strategy emerges by tier: new, single-property landlords paid a significantly higher average price of $530,613, while two-property landlords paid an average of $373,000, a 29.7% discount.

Investors sourced 100% of their Q4 acquisitions from the open market rather than from other landlords. The 'Bought From Landlords' metric was 0 for all tiers, indicating a lack of inter-investor trading during the period.

This suggests that new entrants are willing to pay a premium to enter the market, while slightly more established small investors are more disciplined on price.