BAYFIELD | 2025 MARKET SNAPSHOT

OVERALL PRICING	Average Sale Price	$399,678
	Median Sale Price	$285,000
MARKET SPEED	Average DOM	81
	Median DOM	21
METHOD OF PAYMENT	Conventional	18 (54%)
	Cash	14 (40%)
	Other	1 (2.9%)
	FHA	1 (2.9%)
PRICE DISTRIBUTION	Under $200,000	3
	$201,000-$300,000	10
	$301,000-$400,000	6
	$401,000-$500,000	11
	Above $501,000	6

In 2025, demand was hottest between $250,000 and $400,000; cooled sharply above $400,000; and became discretionary above $500,000. Waterfront properties commanded exceptional price premiums but consistently required longer marketing timelines.

The “typical” sale moved fast and held price while a smaller set of listings sat long enough to distort the averages. That tension shows up immediately in the Days on Market (DOM) stats. The median days on market was just 21, meaning half of properties sold in about three weeks. But the average DOM ballooned to 80.7, a classic sign of a market where most homes are liquid, but the misses (typically price) can linger for months.

On pricing, the market looked remarkably “tight to list.” The median sold-to-list ratio was 100%, and even the average came in at 97.7%. In plain terms: buyers negotiated selectively, but they didn’t broadly “reset” pricing across the board. Sellers who were aligned with the market tended to get paid.

Over half of homes sold through conventional loans (51.4%), but cash still accounted for 40% of all closings. That’s not background noise; cash matters in Bayfield. Practically, it means: speed and certainty matter (cash wins ties), homes that show well and are priced right can still trigger fast, decisive outcomes, and sellers may be more willing to accept slightly different terms when closing is clean.

Volume peaked in late spring and summer (May–August), accounting for 54% of all 2025 sales. The market clearly thinned after Labor Day. April marked the first sustained move above $400K. August–October stayed elevated despite falling volume. Year-end softness reflects small sample size, not a systemic price collapse.

Quarterly takeaways:

• Q2 was the market’s engine: highest volume, strong prices, healthy speed.

• Q3 held price despite slower momentum, a sign of buyer conviction.

• Q4 effectively froze—pricing stayed uneven, but liquidity vanished.

Waterfront properties remained their own pricing tier in 2025. Waterfront homes posted +$42.69/SF on average and a median of +$79.32/SF. That premium is embedded in waterfront sales; it’s not a one-off sale. 2025 demonstrated what’s been increasingly the case around the peninsula: buyers will pay for scarcity. Waterfront behaved less like a commodity and more like a luxury niche, where patience was rewarded with price rather than speed.

Ultimately, 2025 reads like a two-speed market: Properly-positioned listings (condition, location, pricing) sold quickly and near list, yet inventory of poorly positioned homes accumulated over time, pushing the average DOM up and creating the impression of a slower market than most sellers actually experienced.

WASHBURN | 2025 MARKET SNAPSHOP

OVERALL PRICING	Average Sold Price	$344,826
	Median Sold Price	$284,900
MARKET SPEED	Market Speed Average Days on Market (DOM)	55
	Median Days on Market (DOM)	17
	Sold in 7 Days or Less	33.3%
	Sold in 90+ Days	15.6%
	Sold in 180+ Days	6.7%
METHOD OF PAYMENT	Cash	44.4%
	Conventional	42.2%
	Other	6.7%
	FHA	2.2%
	VA	2.2%
	Construction/Rehab	2.2%
PRICE DISTRIBUTION	Under $100,000	4 (8.9%)
	$100,000–$150,000	1 (2.2%)
	$150,000–$250,000	12 (26.7%)
	$250,000–$400,000	18 (40.0%)
	Over $400,000	10 (22.2%)

Washburn’s 2025 sales data shows a market defined by two realities at once: strong pricing power—especially on waterfront—and buyers who were willing to move quickly only when a listing felt undeniably “right.” Across 45 closed sales, the average sold price was $344,826 while the median was $284,900, revealing a market where high-end transactions lifted the overall average, but the typical sale remained in the high-$200s.

Washburn could be defined as a two-speed market: urgency for the right homes, patience for the rest. The clearest tell is the split between median DOM (17) and average DOM (55.1). Roughly one-third of homes sold in a week or less, yet a meaningful tail lingered: 15.6% lasted 90+ days, and 6.7% ran 180+ days. That’s not a weak market—it’s a selective one. Buyers showed they’d act fast when price/condition/location aligned, but they were perfectly comfortable waiting out listings they felt didn’t justify the asking price. Pricing and presentation created velocity.

Cash was a dominant force. Nearly 44.4% of closings were cash, with 42.2% conventional. With nearly half of Wasburn’s 2025 home sales completed in cash, competitive offers, i.e. “clean” offers—ones with strong deposits, few to no contingencies—were critical for Buyer success. 

The largest share of sales sat in $250k–$400k (40%), with 22.2% above $400k—a higher-end tilt relative to many small markets. This reinforces that Washburn’s demand wasn’t confined to entry-level stock; buyers were actively competing for quality, size, setting, and lifestyle. Washburn’s “middle” in 2025 reflects a market where buyers are looking to level-up rather than start a home-owning journey. 

Waterfront property didn’t just sell at a higher price—waterfront property’s a completely different market..  The biggest signal in the file is the waterfront $/SF premium: +$148.51/SF (average) and +$99.66/SF (median) over non-waterfront.

That is a substantial separation—suggesting that in 2025, waterfront value wasn’t speculative or vague; it was measurable and consistently paid. But it came with a nuance: waterfront took longer, with a 47.5 median DOM versus 14 for non-waterfront.

In 2025, waterfront buyers paid up—then took their time to make sure it was the right one. That median gap is the tell: the premium isn’t just one splashy sale—it’s embedded in the typical waterfront transaction (within this sample). Translation: waterfront remained its own pricing tier in 2025, and buyers continued to pay for scarcity.

TAKEAWAYS 

1. Properly-positioned listings (condition, location, pricing) sold quickly and near list.

2. The tougher inventory accumulated time—dragging the average DOM up and creating the impression of a slower market than most sellers actually experienced.

If 2025 is a guide, Washburn will continue to behave like a market where great listings create urgency and everything else must earn attention. Sellers will win by treating price and presentation as one combined strategy—especially on waterfront, where the premium is real but the buyer is careful.

Ashland, Wisconsin Real Estate Sales: September 2025

Twelve single family homes sold last month in Ashland. Down from last month’s peak monthly sales of 17, September sales still represent the year’s second highest sales total. 

Prices ranged from $36,000 for a small one bedroom, one bath home on 16th Ave E to $260,000 for a 15 acre homestead just south of town on Beaser Ave. 

The city’s average sale price last month, approximately $165,000, marks the lowest average sale price in five months now. ADD DETAIL ABOUT YEARLY AVERAGE

Two of the twelve homes—514 W 9th Ave and 914 2nd Ave W—sold above asking. They were on the market 5 and 3 days respectively, which is way less than the month’s median of 21 days. 

The city’s highest priced sale of month among homes on the grid, a home on the corner of 7th Street and 9th Ave W, a home initially listed for $285,000, sat on the market for 105 days before selling for $250,000. It’s a pretty house. Beautiful woodwork and tiling, five bedrooms, two baths, an attached two car garage. although not historic itself, it’s a great home a block away from Ashland’s historic MacArthur and Chapple avenues.

For just a little less, a home on 16th Ave W sold for $139,000. This clean, solid home  on .62 acres is a great find for someone wanting a pinch of privacy as well as proximity to a city’s amenities. 

Otherwise, two homes on Front Street E—a small street running only five city blocks—sold last month. Which is kind of crazy. Prior to these two sales, only four homes on the street had sold in the last ten years. 

Commercially, the Stagecoach Bar on Main Street E changed ownership. After some unfortunate events, the bar was listed for sale in August of 2024 for approximately $250,000. It sold for $175,000. 

The only land to sell last month was out in Moquah, a 32 acre spread ion County G. This land is gorgeous; there’s a great balance of pasture and woods, a copse of cedars near a creek and enough ostrich ferns to drown in. But, and this a a big but, the property has buried pipeline running throughout. Which is why is sat on the market for as long as it did. 

No multi-family properties sold last month. 

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/0d3070_3bf2727f87294ea9ab029d3d1594f5e9/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Ashland, Wisconsin Real Estate Sales: September 2025