Burnett (WI) Investor Pulse Report (2026-Q1)

In Burnett County, investors hold a significant 44.4% of the single-family residential market, totaling 4,945 properties out of 11,138 available SFRs. This high penetration rate indicates a market heavily influenced by real estate investing activity.

The ownership structure is overwhelmingly composed of individuals, who own 4,059 properties, or 82.1% of the investor portfolio. Companies own the remaining 990 properties (20.0%), highlighting that the market is driven by smaller-scale investors rather than large corporations.

A striking financial characteristic of this market is the preference for cash purchases. Cash-owned properties (3,844) vastly outnumber financed ones (1,101), revealing that 77.7% of the investor portfolio is owned outright. This suggests a well-capitalized investor base less sensitive to interest rate fluctuations.

The portfolio is almost entirely dedicated to rentals, with 4,915 of the 4,945 investor-owned properties classified as non-owner-occupied. This 99.4% rental rate confirms that the primary strategy for investors in this area is generating rental income.

The disparity between entity types is also clear, with 5,869 individual landlords compared to just 931 company landlords. This 6.3-to-1 ratio of individual-to-company entities further cements the mom-and-pop character of the Burnett County rental market.

Investors in Burnett County demonstrate a consistent ability to acquire properties at a significant discount compared to traditional homeowners. In Q1 2026, landlords paid an average of $190,373, which is $70,085, or 26.9%, less than the $260,458 average paid by homeowners.

This pricing advantage for investors has fluctuated over the past year. The discount was even larger in Q2 2025, reaching 32.0% ($120,948), before narrowing significantly. This volatility suggests that investor purchasing power and deal-finding success can vary based on quarterly market conditions.

Recent acquisition prices signal a market cooldown. The Q1 2026 average price of $190,373 represents a substantial decrease from the 2020-2023 average of $254,431. This trend contrasts with broader market narratives of continuous appreciation and points to a localized price correction.

The data reveals very low transaction volume for landlords in recent quarters, with zero properties purchased in several periods. This may indicate either sporadic, opportunistic buying behavior or potential gaps in recent transactional records.

The long-term trend, however, shows a clear pricing advantage. The ability to consistently purchase below the homeowner market rate is a key strategic advantage for investors operating in this county, enabling higher potential returns on investment.

Investor activity accounted for 19.0% of all single-family home purchases in Burnett County during Q4 2025, with landlords acquiring 11 of the 58 properties sold. This market share demonstrates continued and meaningful participation from investors.

The entirety of this purchasing activity came from the smallest investors. Mom-and-pop landlords (Tiers 01-04) were responsible for 100% of acquisitions, with no properties purchased by mid-size or institutional players.

Drilling down further, all 11 properties were purchased by investors in the 'single-property' tier. This indicates that the market's growth is being driven by new entrants or existing single-property landlords expanding their portfolios, rather than consolidation by larger firms.

A total of 13 unique entities made these 11 purchases, suggesting some properties may have been co-owned. This influx of new landlord entities in the smallest tier reinforces the grassroots nature of the local rental market.

The complete absence of institutional buying (0.0% of landlord purchases) in Q4 stands in stark contrast to the dominant activity at the micro-investor level. This finding highlights a market dynamic entirely centered on small-scale, individual proptech users and investors.

The ownership landscape in Burnett County is unequivocally dominated by small-scale investors. Mom-and-pop landlords, defined as those owning 1-10 properties, collectively control 99.5% of all investor-owned single-family homes.

The concentration at the smallest end of the spectrum is profound. Single-property landlords (Tier 01) alone account for 89.5% of the investor-owned housing stock, with a portfolio of 4,509 properties. This group forms the bedrock of the county's rental market.

As portfolio size increases, the number of properties drops off precipitously. Landlords with two properties hold a distant 5.9% share, and all other tiers combined hold less than 5% of the market.

Institutional investors (1,000+ properties) have a negligible presence in Burnett County. Their entire portfolio consists of just 5 properties, making up only 0.1% of the investor market. This finding directly counters the narrative of large corporations controlling the housing market in this area.

This distribution reveals a highly fragmented market composed almost entirely of small, local operators. The investment opportunities and market dynamics are therefore shaped by the decisions of thousands of individual landlords, not a handful of large firms.

Individual investors maintain majority ownership across all reported portfolio tiers in Burnett County, reinforcing their dominance over company-based investors. There is no crossover point where companies become the primary owners.

In the foundational single-property tier, individuals own 3,778 properties (82.1%) compared to 824 for companies (17.9%). This 4.6-to-1 ratio shows that the entry point for real estate investment in the area is overwhelmingly an individual pursuit.

This pattern continues as portfolios grow. Individuals own 68.7% of properties in the two-property tier and 80.1% in the 3-5 property tier. The comprehensive assessor data confirms this widespread individual ownership.

Companies gain their strongest foothold in the 6-10 property tier, but still fall short of a majority, owning 8 properties (44.4%) compared to the 10 properties (55.6%) held by individuals.

This data illustrates a market where the path to scaling a rental portfolio remains primarily in the hands of individual owners. The business structure does not heavily shift toward corporate entities even as landlords acquire more properties, at least within the small-to-mid-size range.

Investor ownership in Burnett County is not evenly distributed, but rather concentrated in key zip codes. The 54830 zip code is the epicenter of activity, with 2,025 investor-owned properties, which also represents a high ownership rate of 51.6%.

The zip code 54893 follows with 1,335 investor-owned homes (45.7% rate), further demonstrating that a few key areas attract the bulk of investment capital and ownership.

Some hyper-local markets exhibit extraordinary levels of investor penetration. The 54859 zip code leads the county with a 69.2% investor ownership rate, meaning more than two-thirds of all single-family homes there are rentals or non-owner-occupied.

The list of top regions by percentage reveals a clear pattern of high concentration. Four of the top five zip codes, including 54801 (51.8%), 54830 (51.6%), and 54871 (50.9%), all have investor ownership rates greater than 50%.

This geographic analysis pinpoints specific neighborhoods where investors are the dominant players in the housing market. This concentration likely has significant impacts on local rental availability, home prices, and community composition.

Historical transaction data shows that landlords in Burnett County are in a phase of aggressive portfolio expansion. In 2025, they were decisive net buyers, purchasing 152 single-family properties while selling only 8, resulting in a net gain of 144 homes.

This trend is not new; it continues a pattern from the previous year. In 2024, investors were similarly net buyers, with 157 purchases against just 5 sales, for a net increase of 152 properties.

The buying momentum was evident on a quarterly basis as well. In Q3 2025, landlords acquired 68 properties and sold only 3, a buy-to-sell ratio of over 22-to-1. The preceding quarter, Q2 2025, saw 35 buys versus 3 sells.

The data clearly indicates a long-term strategy of accumulation among the county's investor base. Landlords are consistently adding to their holdings rather than churning or divesting assets.

Notably, there is no transactional data available for institutional-grade investors (1000+ tier). This aligns with their minimal ownership footprint and confirms their lack of influence on the county's transaction market.

In the most recent quarter's transactions, landlords captured a 16.1% share of the market, participating in 14 of the 87 total SFR transactions in Burnett County. This represents a solid portion of market activity.

The transaction volume was exclusively driven by the smallest investors. All 14 landlord transactions were from entities in the single-property (Tier 01) category, with zero activity recorded from mid-size or institutional tiers.

These new and small landlords paid an average purchase price of $179,217. This price point is significantly lower than the average homeowner price, aligning with the broader trend of investors securing properties at a discount.

A key finding is that 0% of these purchases were from other landlords. This lack of inter-investor trading suggests that new supply for the rental market is being sourced directly from the owner-occupied housing stock, rather than from portfolio churn among existing investors.

This transactional behavior reinforces the theme of market expansion, where new capital from small investors is flowing into the rental sector by converting traditional homes into investment properties.