Is Lake Geneva Still Rising or Slipping When Sold Prices and Price Per Foot Disagree? Reading the Part-Year Homes, the Mortgages and the Older Stock

How far apart are the Lake Geneva price pages, and which page is oldest?

Five price figures are on the table. Redfin's median sale price is $484,790 for the three months ending August 2026. Realtor.com's median sold price is $516,500 and its median listing price is $592,000, both as of June 2026, with charts through May 2026. Zillow's average home value is $455,685, updated 4/30/2026. The Census median owner value is $369,100, with a margin of error of $25,395, or 6.9% of the value, from the five-year survey ending in 2024. The Zillow page is the oldest of the price pages, by about two months against Realtor.com and four months against Redfin.

Zillow's modeled value sits below the Redfin and Realtor.com sold medians but above the Census owner-value estimate. These gaps are not appreciation of matching houses. Zillow Research explains that ZHVI uses a trimmed middle-third mean of property-level Zestimates and a repeat-Zestimate index. It includes modeled values for homes that did not sell, unlike a closing-price median. The local page's average-value label therefore does not mean an arithmetic average of sale prices.

Redfin's sold median is up 14.9% annually, Zillow's modeled value is up 5.2%, and Realtor.com's sold median is up 35.21% annually and 34.16% over three years. Realtor.com's listing median is down 6.71% annually and 1.16% over three years. Different populations and periods can produce these directions without a factual contradiction. They do not measure returns on the same house. A changed sales mix is a possible explanation, not one established by these pages.

Redfin reports $253 per square foot, down 13.7% annually, beside its rising sold-price median. Realtor.com reports $283, up 1.83% annually and 12.75% over three years. Realtor.com's research library defines median listing price per foot as a measure of listed homes, not closed transactions. The 11.9% numerical gap is not a matched-home premium. Opposite directions in total price and price per foot do not prove larger houses sold: the underlying properties and distributions are not supplied here.

Realtor.com's warm and balanced descriptions are publisher labels, not independent proof of pricing power. Its $2,500 rent median is down 10.71% annually and 13.79% over three years. Fourteen rental listings and rounded growth rates cannot be worked backward into exact integer inventories. Redfin's text reports 134 sales against 127, an arithmetic rise of 5.5%, while its block says 5.3%. That specific discrepancy is flagged without assigning a guessed cause. Neighborhood rows are not substituted for the postal geography.

Sources as cited. Earlier values and differences are computed from the published percentages.

How old and how detached is the Lake Geneva stock?

The stock is mostly detached. Of 11,538 units, 7,717, or 66.9%, are detached houses and 774, or 6.7%, are attached houses such as townhouses. Buildings of two units hold 257, three or four units hold 292, five to nine hold 962, ten to nineteen hold 486, twenty to forty-nine hold 472 and fifty or more hold 140. Together, buildings of two or more units hold 2,609 units, or 22.6%. Mobile homes number 438, or 3.8%, and no units are counted as boats or recreational vehicles.

The stock includes a substantial older share. Of 11,538 units, 1,571 were built before 1940, 737 in the 1940s, 949 in the 1950s, 1,193 in the 1960s and 1,485 in the 1970s, so 5,935, or 51.4%, were built before 1980. The 1980s hold 952, the 1990s hold 1,750, the largest single decade at 15.2%, the 2000s hold 1,625, the 2010s hold 1,101 and 175 were built in 2020 or later. Homes built before 1940 alone are 13.6%. Homes built in 2000 or later total 2,901, or 25.1%. The median build year is 1979.

Owner homes are mid-sized to large. Of 5,787, 2,773 have three bedrooms, 47.9%, 1,216 have two, 21.0%, 1,129 have four, 19.5%, 458 have five or more, 186 have one and 25 have none. Four or more bedrooms covers 1,587 homes, or 27.4%. Renters live in smaller homes: of 2,561, 1,070 have two bedrooms, 41.8%, 590 have three, 431 have one, 246 have four, 196 have none and 28 have five or more.

Of 3,190 vacant units, 275 are for rent, ten rented but unoccupied, fifty-two for sale, seventy-eight sold but unoccupied, 2,474 seasonal, recreational or occasional, and 301 other vacant. Vacancy is 27.6% of all units; seasonal use is 77.6% of vacant units, not all homes. Census vacation-home guidance counts residents staying at least two months from interview as occupied. Shorter stays can be temporarily occupied yet classified vacant. The Bureau collects no specific short-term-rental count, so these figures do not identify Airbnb properties.

The stock survey describes older and part-year units but does not show which entered each publisher's sale median. It cannot establish frontage, finish, lot or updates for your house. Compare closed sales with matching property type and known terms. A direct purchase can change inspection and repair responsibilities, but it does not make condition irrelevant to the buyer's offer or remove requirements that apply to the transaction.

Sources as cited. Shares are computed from the Census counts.

How fast do Lake Geneva homes sell, and what do sellers get against asking?

Redfin's page, for the three months ending August 2026, shows a median of 55 days on the market against 59 a year before, a fall of 4 days. It shows a sale-to-list ratio of 97.5%, up 0.6 points, with 16.9% of homes sold above list, up 5.9 points. It labels the market somewhat competitive and says some homes get multiple offers, with the average home selling for about 3% below list and going pending in around 56 days.

Realtor.com shows a median of 53 days on the market for June 2026, up 10.42% on the year, which implies about 48 a year before, and up 17.78% on three years, which implies about 45. Its hotness label is warm, and its text says homes sold for 1.36% below the asking price on average in June 2026 with a sale-to-list ratio of 99%. The two pages differ on direction: Redfin has days on the market falling by 4 and Realtor.com has them rising by about 5. The periods differ by two months, and the conflict is flagged and not resolved.

Redfin's 97.5% ratio and Realtor.com's rounded 99% are dated aggregate measures, not promised concessions for your house. Redfin's Metrics Definitions averages individual closed-home ratios against final list price. It is not the ratio of the area's sold and listing medians, nor necessarily a comparison with original asking. Its 16.9% above-list share and 30.0% price-drop share concern different populations. Some above-list sales can coexist with listing reductions without identifying which homes received multiple offers or why.

Supply is lower on the year and on three years. Realtor.com shows 200 active listings, down 10.08% on the year, which implies about 222 a year before, and down 12.20% on three years, which implies about 228. Against 8,348 occupied homes, 200 listings equal 2.4%. Realtor.com shows 14 rental properties, down 15.38% on the year and up 83.33% on three years, a small count that swings widely.

The fifty-five and fifty-three days should not be treated as interchangeable complete-sale schedules. Redfin distinguishes days on market around contract acceptance from days to close. Realtor.com's data library describes listing time from initial listing to closing or removal. These definitions and the different periods can affect comparisons. A median also leaves half of measured cases at or above the midpoint. If a move depends on a deadline, compare actual marketing, contract and closing dates for matching homes rather than borrow the shortest published number.

Sources as cited. Earlier values are computed from the published percentages.

Who owns the homes in Lake Geneva, and how heavy is the cost of owning?

The population is 18,638, with a margin of error of 600. Of those, 3,595 are under 18, 19.3%, 1,533 are 18 to 24, 8.2%, 1,883 are 25 to 34, 10.1%, 2,077 are 35 to 44, 11.1%, 5,068 are 45 to 64, 27.2%, and 4,482 are 65 or older, 24.0%. The largest group is 45 to 64. The Census does not say what that means for sales, and the brief draws no conclusion from it.

Of 8,348 occupied homes, 5,787, or 69.3%, are owned and 2,561, or 30.7%, are rented. Owners moved in over a wide span: of 5,787 owner homes, 75 were taken up in 2023 or later, 948 in 2020 to 2022, 2,247 in the 2010s, 992 in the 2000s, 841 in the 1990s and 684 before 1990. So 17.7% of owner homes were taken up in 2020 or later, and 38.8% in the 2010s. Renters are newer: of 2,561 renter homes, 224 were taken up in 2023 or later, 617 in 2020 to 2022, 1,436 in the 2010s, 203 in the 2000s, 50 in the 1990s and 31 before 1990.

A majority of owners have a mortgage. Of 5,787 owner homes, 3,202, or 55.3%, have one, and 2,585, or 44.7%, have none. Of 3,202 with a mortgage and a computed share, 814, or 25.4%, pay 30% or more of income on owner costs and 390, or 12.2%, pay half or more. The largest band is 10% to 14.9%, at 650, or 20.3%.

Among 2,564 mortgage-free households with a computed cost share, 230, or 9.0%, spend thirty percent or more of income on selected owner costs and 110, or 4.3%, spend half or more. The Census definition includes applicable taxes, property insurance, utilities and specified housing charges, not a general upkeep allowance. The largest band is under ten percent, with 1,227 homes, or 47.9%; twenty-one have no computed share. Mortgage-free does not mean cost-free.

Renters more often cross these income-share thresholds, which is not a comparison of monthly dollar costs or matching households. Of 2,561 renter homes, 134 have no computed rent share, leaving 2,427. Of those, 1,057, or 43.6%, pay 30% or more of income on rent, and 526, or 21.7%, pay half or more. The 50% band, at 526, is the single largest of the nine bands, larger than the 20% to 24.9% band at 412. The median gross rent is $1,405, plus or minus $105, or 7.5% of the value, and the median household income is $83,566, plus or minus $7,808, or 9.3% of the value. Readers comparing markets can also read the Fort Pierce brief and the Atlantic Beach brief.

Sources as cited. Shares and ratios are computed from the Census counts; owner homes with no computed share are excluded.

What should a Lake Geneva owner ask before choosing a listing or a private sale?

A seller should keep four questions apart. What do closed sales of homes of the same type and age show, given that the pages disagree on both the level and the direction of prices? How long might a listing take, with a median of about two months on the pages? What would inspections and repairs cost on an older house? And what would a listing cost in commissions and closing costs, set against what a buyer pays directly?

For illustration, one, three or five percent of a $725,000 price is $7,250, $21,750 or $36,250. These are arithmetic examples, not commission quotes or a valuation. Actual costs depend on agreement. The CFPB explains that mortgage payoff is not necessarily the current balance: it includes interest through the payoff date and may include unpaid fees or a prepayment penalty. Obtain a dated payoff statement and compare net proceeds under each written offer, not just its advertised purchase price.

Maison Off-Market describes a direct purchase with no public showings, flexible closing, no commissions or seller closing costs, and no seller inspections or repairs. Those terms may suit an owner who spends part of the year away. They do not establish a higher net result or replace the written offer. Compare who pays each charge, the closing date, remaining conditions and mortgage payoff with a realistic listing alternative before deciding.

Maison Off-Market buys luxury homes and estates directly from their owners and speaks only to sellers. An owner who wants to see what a direct purchase would look like, with no public listing and no showings, can use the contact form below and ask for an offer before deciding.

Sources as cited. Fee figures are arithmetic and not quoted rates.

Methodology and limitations

Zillow's price page is updated April 30, 2026; Realtor.com's key indicators report June with charts through May; Redfin's window ends in August. Zillow is the oldest price page. Modeled values, owner surveys, listing measures and sold medians are distinct. Opposite directions do not identify appreciation of matching properties. The Redfin sales-growth text/block difference remains flagged. Rounded rental rates are not evidence of fractional physical properties. Publisher methods inform price-per-foot, final-list ratios and contract-versus-closing timing.

Census ACS guidance explains that five-year estimates pool sixty months of responses and trade currency for better precision in smaller areas. These 2020-2024 postal estimates are not a single-day inventory or today's households. Available margins of error are retained; counts and shares were checked against totals. Seasonal classifications follow current-residence rules, not an assumption that nobody visits the house. No neighborhood row is used as a substitute for the postal area.

The brief makes no claim about any one property, owner, tenant or buyer, and it does not say that a private sale always yields more than a listing.

Conclusion

Lake Geneva's postal survey describes mostly detached homes, substantial older stock and a large seasonal vacancy category. The market pages describe different prices, dates and populations, not competing valuations of one house. For an owner, matching closed transactions and written offer terms matter more than deciding whether every aggregate points up or down. Separate marketing from closing time and compare proceeds after agreed costs and payoff.

Maison Off-Market buys luxury homes and estates directly from their owners and speaks only to sellers. An owner who wants a direct offer, with no public listing and no showings, can ask through the contact form.