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

Investor ownership comprises a small fraction of the Outagamie County housing market, with 1,423 landlord-owned SFRs representing just 2.4% of the total 59,338 SFR properties.

The investor landscape is dominated by private individuals, who own 1,022 properties (71.8% of the investor portfolio), while companies own the remaining 422 properties (29.7%).

This individual dominance is even more pronounced when looking at the landlords themselves. There are 1,458 individual landlords compared to only 291 company entities, demonstrating that the market is primarily driven by small-scale operators.

Cash is the preferred method of acquisition for investors in this market. There are 907 cash-owned properties, significantly outnumbering the 516 properties that carry financing, indicating a well-capitalized investor base.

The vast majority of the investor portfolio is actively used for rentals, with 1,208 properties identified as non-owner-occupied, underscoring the rental-focused strategy of landlords in the area.

Landlords in Outagamie County demonstrated powerful purchasing leverage in Q4 2025, acquiring properties for an average price of $269,390. This represents a substantial 21.7% discount compared to the $344,013 paid by traditional homeowners, saving an average of $74,623 per property.

However, this discount is not consistent, revealing a volatile market. In Q3 2025, the discount was a more modest 9.8% ($36,247), and in Q2 2025, landlords actually paid a 17.9% premium ($63,713) over homeowners, suggesting opportunistic buying rather than a stable market advantage.

Despite the Q4 discount, property prices for investors have seen significant long-term growth. The average 2025 acquisition price of $335,792 is 10.7% higher than the 2024 average of $303,274.

The post-pandemic price appreciation is even more stark. The average 2025 price represents a 34.6% increase from the average price of $249,417 paid during the 2020-2023 period, highlighting rapid equity growth for long-term holders.

Investor purchasing activity remained subdued in Q4 2025, with landlords acquiring only 18 of the 616 total SFRs sold in Outagamie County, capturing just 2.9% of the market share.

The market's growth is exclusively fueled by small-scale investors. Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) were responsible for 83.3% of all landlord purchases, totaling 15 properties.

New entrants and first-time landlords (Tier 01) were the most active group, purchasing 9 properties, which accounts for 50.0% of all investor acquisitions this quarter. This activity was spread across 12 distinct entities.

In stark contrast, large institutional investors (Tier 09) were completely inactive, making zero purchases in Q4, reinforcing their minimal presence in the county.

Mid-size landlords showed minimal activity, with investors in the 11-20 property tier acquiring 2 properties and those in the 101-1000 tier purchasing just a single property.

The investor landscape in Outagamie County is unequivocally dominated by small-scale operators. Mom-and-pop landlords, who own between 1 and 10 properties, control a massive 92.5% of all investor-owned SFRs.

Single-property landlords form the bedrock of the market. This tier alone, comprising 1,021 properties, accounts for 70.8% of all investor-held housing, highlighting the importance of new and small investors.

Conversely, the narrative of large-scale corporate ownership does not apply here. Institutional investors with over 1,000 properties have a near-zero presence, holding just 7 properties, or 0.5% of the total investor portfolio.

The ownership concentration drops off sharply as portfolio sizes increase. Mid-size landlords (11-100 properties) control only 6.9% of the portfolio combined, further cementing the market's small-investor character.

The entire large-scale end of the spectrum (101+ properties) is virtually non-existent, with only two entities in these tiers owning a combined 8 properties, or 0.6% of the market.

Ownership structure in Outagamie County shifts dramatically as portfolios grow. While individuals are the primary owners in smaller tiers, companies become the majority owners starting in the 6-10 property tier (Tier 04), where they hold 76 properties (88.4%).

Individual investors are the backbone of the entry-level market, owning 899 single-property rentals (86.5%) and 36 two-property rentals (58.1%).

The transition to corporate ownership is rapid. After the 3-5 property tier, where ownership is nearly split (53.0% individual vs. 47.0% company), company dominance accelerates, reaching 91.9% in the 11-20 property tier.

This pattern reveals a distinct strategy: individuals initiate rental portfolios, but a corporate structure is strongly preferred for scaling beyond a handful of properties in this market.

Even at the smallest scales, companies have a foothold. They own 140 properties (13.5%) in the single-property tier, indicating some investors incorporate their holdings from the very first purchase.

Geographic concentration of investor ownership is evident in Outagamie County, with three zip codes accounting for a significant portion of the portfolio. Zip codes 54911 (246 properties), 54130 (220 properties), and 54914 (207 properties) collectively contain 673 investor-owned SFRs.

The zip codes with the highest number of investor properties do not necessarily have the highest market penetration. The top areas by count, 54911, 54130, and 54914, have modest investor ownership rates of 3.2%, 2.5%, and 2.4%, respectively.

A clear distinction exists between volume and density. Zip code 54931 stands out with the highest investor saturation at 12.8%, indicating a pocket of concentrated rental activity that differs from the broader, lower-density areas.

Another area with notable investor presence is zip code 54152, which has the second-highest ownership rate at 5.4%, further illustrating that investor strategy is not uniform across the county.

The overall investor market in Outagamie County is in a state of slight accumulation, with landlords acting as net buyers. In Q4 2025, they purchased 22 properties and sold 17, for a net gain of 5 properties.

This trend of net buying has been consistent throughout the year. Across all of 2025, landlords acquired 133 SFRs while selling 101, resulting in a net increase of 32 properties to their portfolios.

However, a significant divergence in strategy appears at the institutional level. The 1000+ property tier investors are net sellers, divesting from the market. In 2025, they sold 3 properties while acquiring only 1, a clear signal of retreat.

This contrasts with their position in 2024, when they were net buyers (2 buys vs. 1 sell), suggesting a recent strategic shift to reduce their already minimal exposure in the county.

The buy/sell activity for all landlords has been relatively balanced throughout 2025, with Q2 showing 34 buys vs. 33 sells and Q3 showing 27 buys vs. 26 sells, indicating a stable but not aggressive market.

Landlord transaction volume represented a very small slice of the overall market in Q4 2025. Of the 947 total SFR transactions in Outagamie County, only 22 involved a landlord buyer, accounting for just 2.3% of market activity.

A surprising pricing pattern emerged among investor tiers. First-time or single-property landlords (Tier 01) paid the highest average price by a wide margin, at $332,483 per property during the quarter.

This is significantly higher than prices paid by more experienced landlords. For example, the 3-5 property tier paid an average of just $124,400, and the 6-10 tier paid $220,000, suggesting new entrants may be paying a premium to enter the market.

The investor market showed no internal liquidity in Q4. None of the 22 landlord purchases came from another landlord, resulting in a 0.0% inter-landlord transaction rate and suggesting investors are acquiring properties from traditional homeowners.

Transaction activity was dominated by mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04), who conducted 19 of the 22 total investor transactions, while institutional investors made zero transactions.