Selling a Home in Burlington, WI: Home Values, Lake Property and Country Real Estate

By Kim and Joel Reyenga, eXp Realty | YourWiscoHome.com

Quick answer: The Burlington area recorded 460 closed sales between January 3, 2025 and September 15, 2026. Homes off the water sold at a $410,000 median in 20 days. Lake access homes sold at $288,000 in 9 days. Both segments rose about 6 percent year over year. Houses that never cut their price got a median 100 percent of asking in 9 days. Houses that cut got 90.9 percent in 48 days.

This guide covers the City and Town of Burlington, the Town of Spring Prairie and the Town of Lyons.

What sold

Segment	Sold	Median	Median days on market
Home off the water	275	$410,000	20
Lake access home	71	$288,000	9
Lakefront home	17	listed individually in the buying guide	13
Condominium, off water	32	$225,000	24
Condominium, lake access	8	$271,250	40
Vacant land, off water	36	$154,950	114
Vacant land, lake access	6	$34,000	113

Individual lakefront sales, with frontage, sit in buying a home in Burlington.

Values rose in both main segments

Segment	2025	2026 through September 15
Home off the water	$406,825 on 156 sales	$430,000 on 119 sales
Lake access home	$280,000 on 47 sales	$296,775 on 24 sales

Both rose about 6 percent. Owners selling from Illinois can read selling from across the state line.

One caution. The 2026 figures stop on September 15. They do not include a full fall. Treat the direction as real and the exact percent as early.

The price reduction finding

This is the clearest number in the whole data set, and it is the one worth a seller's attention.

Across 363 single family sales:

	Sales	Median share of original asking price	Median days on market
Never reduced the price	276	100.0%	9
Reduced during the listing	87	90.9%	48

A house that never cut its price got the full asking price in 9 days. A house that cut got 90.9 percent in 48 days.

That is roughly 9 points of price and 5 times the days on market.

The reduction did not rescue those listings. It followed a price the market had already declined. The first price is the one that does the work.

Where the competition is

Price band changes the experience more than any other factor.

Sale price	Sold	Median days	Median of original asking	Sold above asking
Under $250,000	41	17	95.9%	22%
$250,000 to $350,000	105	9	100.0%	35%
$350,000 to $500,000	115	12	100.0%	40%
$500,000 to $750,000	60	22	98.3%	13%
Above $750,000	42	31	94.9%	2%

The $250,000 to $500,000 band is the competitive zone. Those 220 sales moved in 9 to 12 days at the full asking price, and 35 to 40 percent of them drew a buyer willing to pay more than the seller asked.

Above $750,000 the market changes completely. Those 42 sales took 31 days at a median 94.9 percent of asking, and exactly 1 of them sold above the list price.

A seller pricing at $749,000 and a seller pricing at $760,000 are in different markets.

What above asking actually looks like

101 of 363 single family sales closed above their original asking price. That is 28 percent.

The median premium was 4.7 percent. The largest was 28.9 percent.

Seventy-five of those 101 sold within 7 days of listing. Competitive bidding here is a first-week event. It does not develop after a listing has been sitting.

How fast property sells

Days on market	Share of single family sales
7 days or fewer	36%
8 to 30 days	33%
31 to 60 days	19%
61 to 120 days	9%
121 days or more	4%

More than a third sold inside a week. Nearly 7 in 10 sold inside a month.

Lake access is the sharpest example. It sold in a median of 9 days at 100 percent of the original asking price, the fastest segment in this market.

Vacant land is the other end. It took a median 114 days, and 36 parcels were listed at the data pull against 36 sold over 20 months. A land seller should plan for a longer runway. Our condominium study covers how the condominium types price.

What sellers got against asking price

Segment	Median result
Lake access home	100.0%
Condominium, off water	99.9%
Home off the water	98.7%
Vacant land, off water	96.9%
Lakefront home	92.1%

Lake access held the line exactly. Lakefront gave up the most, at a median 92.1 percent, with 12 of 17 selling below asking. How lake amenities affect value is covered in our guide to amenity impact.

The three municipalities behave differently

Single family sales only:

Municipality	Sold	Median	Median days	Median of asking
Burlington	297	$360,000	15	99.2%
Town of Lyons	37	$568,000	28	95.6%
Town of Spring Prairie	29	$549,000	25	96.7%

The townships sell for more and take longer. Lyons and Spring Prairie both run about $190,000 above the city median, at roughly twice the days on market and 3 to 4 points less of the asking price.

That is the acreage market. Larger parcels bring fewer buyers for each one, and the buyers who do come negotiate. The Town and Country study reports the wider region on one basis.

When closings happen

Month	Closings
June	59
May	57
August	51
July	48
April	43
February and September	38
December	35
March	30
October	23
November	20
January	18

June closes more than 3 times the volume of January.

A June closing usually means an April contract. For lake property, that means listing in early spring while the pier is going in. Our regional overview covers how the seasons work across the wider market.

The shoulder months matter more here than in a pure resort market, because this is a working community with a hospital, a plant and a school district. February recorded 38 closings, which is more than October.

What to have ready before listing

Township property runs on private well and septic. There is no municipal water outside the city.

For any property:

• Well records, including the last test and any treatment equipment

• Septic records on township property, including the last inspection and pumping

• Sewer and water account records where the property is connected in the city

• Association documents and dues history where they apply

• Receipts for recent work, especially mechanical systems and the roof

• The Wisconsin Real Estate Condition Report, which state law requires

For lake property, add the recorded document covering any water rights, pier permits and the date the pier was first placed, DNR correspondence, shoreline work history and surveyed frontage if you have it.

For acreage, add a survey, any outbuilding permits, and the current use or farmland assessment status. Acreage carries a different property tax picture than a city lot.

Our guide to preparing a second home covers the rest of the file.

Listing language, and one specific mistake

Spell the subdivision the way buyers search it. Oakwood Hills, the largest subdivision in this market, appears in the MLS under 8 different spellings. A listing entered under an unusual version will not show up in a buyer's saved search for the common one. That is a seller problem as much as a data problem.

Do not overstate water rights. A slip or pier that is not in a recorded document or an association bylaw creates a disclosure question during attorney review. Our lake association study covers association structures across the region.

On Honey Lake, state the engine restriction. Internal combustion engines are prohibited there and on neighboring Tahoe and Del Monte lakes. A buyer who tours expecting to run a boat and learns otherwise at inspection is a lost deal, not a saved one.

In the Town of Lyons, do not name a school district you have not confirmed. Roughly 55 percent of Lyons addresses feed Burlington Area and 39 percent feed Lake Geneva J1. The line moves by parcel.

See marketing a lake home without overpromising.

Pricing against thin comparable sets

Lakefront recorded 17 sales across 3 lakes in 20 months. Honey Lake recorded 2 lakefront sales and 2 access sales. Lake access condominiums recorded 8. The lakefront study reports all 26 lakes on the same basis.

At that volume an appraiser may reach back further in time or over to another lake. Paperwork gathered before you list narrows the range: surveyed frontage, pier permits, association documents, well records, and any recent sale not yet in the pool.

See appraisal gaps and how to price a home to sell.

For current conditions across the wider region, see our latest market update. For the community picture, see living in Burlington and our companion site's Burlington community guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is my Burlington home worth?

It depends on the segment. Between January 3, 2025 and September 15, 2026, homes off the water sold at a $410,000 median across 275 sales and lake access homes at $288,000 across 71. Condominiums ran $225,000 off the water and $271,250 with lake access. Vacant land ran $154,950. Looking at single family sales by municipality, Burlington ran a $360,000 median, the Town of Lyons $568,000 and the Town of Spring Prairie $549,000.

Does cutting the price help a home sell in Burlington?

The data says the first price does the work. Across 363 single family sales, the 276 that never reduced got a median 100 percent of their original asking price in 9 days. The 87 that reduced got 90.9 percent in 48 days. That is about 9 points of price and 5 times the days on market.

Are Burlington home values rising?

Both main segments rose. Homes off the water went from a $406,825 median in 2025 to $430,000 in 2026 through September 15. Lake access homes went from $280,000 to $296,775. Both are about 6 percent. The 2026 figures do not include a full fall, so treat the direction as real and the exact percent as early.

How long does it take to sell a home in Burlington?

Lake access homes took a median of 9 days, lakefront 13 days and homes off the water 20 days. Condominiums took 24 to 40 days and vacant land took about 114. Thirty-six percent of single family sales closed within 7 days of listing and nearly 7 in 10 within 30 days.

What price range sells fastest in Burlington?

The $250,000 to $500,000 band. Those 220 sales moved in a median of 9 to 12 days at 100 percent of the original asking price, and 35 to 40 percent of them sold above asking. Above $750,000 the picture changes: 42 sales took a median 31 days at 94.9 percent of asking, and only 1 sold above the list price.

How often do Burlington homes sell above asking?

101 of 363 single family sales closed above their original asking price, which is 28 percent. The median premium was 4.7 percent and the largest was 28.9 percent. Seventy-five of those 101 sold within 7 days of listing, so competitive bidding here is a first-week event.

Why does country property take longer to sell near Burlington?

Larger parcels draw fewer buyers, and the buyers who come negotiate. Single family sales in the Town of Lyons ran a $568,000 median at 28 days and 95.6 percent of asking. The Town of Spring Prairie ran $549,000 at 25 days and 96.7 percent. Burlington ran $360,000 at 15 days and 99.2 percent.

Do I need well and septic records to sell near Burlington?

On township property, yes. The Towns of Burlington, Spring Prairie and Lyons run on private well and septic, with no municipal water. A lender will require the records, the last test, the last inspection and pumping, and documentation on any treatment equipment. City properties connected to municipal service need the account records instead.

When is the best time to list in Burlington?

Closings peak in June at 59, against 18 in January. A June closing generally means an April contract, so spring listing suits lake property, when the pier is going in. The shoulder season matters more here than in a pure resort market. February recorded 38 closings, more than October at 23.

Find out what yours is worth

Three lakes, 4 governments and 7 property segments each carry their own comparable sales.

Kim and Joel Reyenga have worked this region for a combined 50 years. Call (262) 325-9867, or request a property valuation.