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

Investors hold a significant 28.6% of the Single-Family Residential market in Waushara County, totaling 3,806 properties out of 13,292.

Individual investors are the backbone of the local rental market, owning 3,169 properties, which accounts for 83.3% of all investor-owned SFRs. In contrast, company-owned properties number 673, representing a 17.7% share.

The entity count further highlights the dominance of small-scale investors, with 4,343 individual landlords compared to just 628 company landlords.

Cash is overwhelmingly the preferred acquisition method for investors in this market. A staggering 3,438 properties are owned outright, compared to only 368 that are financed, signaling a well-capitalized investor base less sensitive to interest rate fluctuations.

The portfolio strategy is clearly focused on rental income, with 3,761 of the 3,806 investor-owned properties designated as rented, representing a 98.8% rental penetration rate within investor holdings.

Landlords demonstrated a significant purchasing advantage in Q4 2025, acquiring properties for an average of $252,000, which is 23.8% less than the $330,564 paid by traditional homeowners. This translates to a substantial discount of $78,564 per property.

However, this discount is not consistent, revealing a highly volatile market. In the prior quarter (Q3 2025), landlords paid a surprising 46.8% premium, averaging $385,305 per purchase. This fluctuation highlights a market where deal availability and property type likely drive large price swings on a quarterly basis.

The long-term price trend shows significant appreciation for investor-acquired properties. The average acquisition price has steadily climbed from $206,182 during the 2020-2023 period to $257,839 in 2024, and reached $299,545 in 2025.

The starkest contrast in purchasing power occurred in Q1 2025, where landlords paid 29.7% less than homeowners, saving $87,732 on average per home ($207,917 vs. $295,649).

Investors maintained a strong presence in the Waushara County market in Q4 2025, purchasing 11 of the 44 total SFR properties sold, capturing exactly 25.0% of all sales.

The entirety of this purchasing activity came from mom-and-pop landlords (1-10 properties), who acquired all 11 properties. Institutional investors (1,000+ properties) were completely inactive on the buy-side this quarter.

New market entrants drove a significant portion of the activity. The single-property tier alone accounted for 7 properties (63.6% of investor purchases), purchased by 9 distinct entities, signaling a healthy influx of first-time landlords.

The remaining acquisitions were made by landlords in the small (3-5 properties) tier, who purchased 4 properties across 2 entities.

This quarter's activity reinforces the market's reliance on small, local investors rather than large-scale corporate buyers for rental housing supply.

The investor landscape in Waushara County is unequivocally dominated by small-scale operators. Mom-and-pop landlords (owning 1-10 properties) control 99.8% of all investor-owned SFRs, a near-total market share.

Single-property landlords form the bedrock of this market, owning 3,320 properties, which represents 85.2% of the entire investor portfolio. This highlights the critical role of first-time and small investors in providing rental housing.

The presence of institutional investors (1,000+ properties) is negligible, with their holdings amounting to just 4 properties, or 0.1% of the investor-owned market. This counters the common narrative of large corporations dominating residential real estate.

Mid-size landlords (11-1,000 properties) also have a very small footprint, collectively owning only 4 properties, further cementing the market's fragmented and small-scale nature.

The data clearly shows that the rental market's character and stability are dictated by the decisions of thousands of small, individual landlords, not a handful of large institutions.

Individual investors are the primary owners across all major portfolio tiers in Waushara County, challenging the assumption that larger portfolios are exclusively corporate-held. In the single-property tier, individuals own 2,794 properties, an 83.4% majority.

This pattern of individual dominance persists as portfolios grow. Individuals own 76.4% of properties in the two-property tier and 86.6% in the 3-5 property tier.

A crossover to company majority ownership does not occur within the primary tiers of the market. Even in the 6-10 property bracket, individuals still hold a 55.6% majority with 5 properties compared to companies' 4.

While individuals maintain majority control, the proportion of company ownership steadily increases with portfolio size. Companies' share grows from 16.6% in the single-property tier to 44.4% in the 6-10 property tier, indicating a greater propensity for incorporation as landlords scale their operations.

Geographic analysis reveals significant investor concentration in specific zip codes within Waushara County. The zip code 54982 (Wautoma) leads by volume, with 1,098 investor-owned SFR properties, representing 28.6% of its housing stock.

Following closely in terms of volume is 54984 (Wild Rose), where investors own 732 properties, accounting for an even higher ownership rate of 34.4%.

However, the highest market penetration is found in smaller communities. The zip code 53964 (Neshkoro) has an investor ownership rate of 53.8%, meaning more than half of the SFRs are investor-owned.

Similarly, 54981 (part of Princeton) also shows extremely high concentration, with a 50.3% investor ownership rate. This indicates that while larger towns have more total rentals, the market impact of investors is proportionally greater in these smaller areas.

This distinction between high-volume and high-penetration areas highlights different market dynamics, with some zip codes being epicenters of rental activity relative to their small size.

Historical transaction data from 2024 paints a clear picture of market accumulation by the broader landlord community in Waushara County. Landlords were aggressive net buyers, acquiring 273 properties while selling only 17.

This activity resulted in a net gain of 256 properties for the investor class, signaling strong confidence and a strategy of portfolio expansion throughout 2024.

In a stark reversal of this trend, the institutional tier (1,000+ properties) demonstrated a pattern of divestment. These large-scale investors were net sellers, with 2 sales compared to only 1 purchase in 2024.

This divergence is a critical market insight: while thousands of smaller landlords were actively growing their portfolios, the largest players were reducing their already minimal exposure in the county.

The data suggests the market's growth is fueled entirely by mom-and-pop and mid-size investors, while institutional capital is either exiting or reallocating elsewhere.

In Q4 2025, landlords participated in 13 of the 59 total SFR transactions, accounting for a 22.0% share of market activity.

All landlord-involved transactions were driven by mom-and-pop investors (Tiers 01-04), with no activity recorded from institutional-level entities. This continues the trend of a market dominated by smaller players.

An interesting pricing pattern emerged among these buyers: single-property landlords paid a higher average price ($270,250) than their slightly larger counterparts in the 3-5 property tier ($215,500). This may suggest new entrants are paying a premium to enter the market.

Crucially, 0.0% of these investor purchases were sourced from other landlords. This lack of inter-landlord trading indicates that investors are adding to the overall rental stock by acquiring properties from homeowners, rather than just trading assets among themselves.