Alleghany County’s decision tension is a positive price signal beside an unmeasured income return: investors seeking rent-supported acquisitions should investigate, while buyers dependent on appreciation alone should be cautious. Zillow’s June 2026 county median home value was $191,075, up 2.85% year over year. FHFA’s 2025 annual repeat-transaction HPI rose 3.77% year over year and 43.23% cumulatively over five years. Those measures point in the same direction, but different vintages and methods cannot be combined into a single growth rate.
No county market rent is published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR of $914 per month is a payment standard, not asking rent, and cannot substitute for rent in underwriting. The effective property-tax rate is 0.80%; it should be applied only after verifying the assessed base and bill. Modeled annual climate loss equals 0.22% of building value, with inland flood the dominant hazard; it flags asset-specific insurance, drainage and elevation review rather than a dollar loss estimate.
Tax-return migration showed a net loss of 4 households, even as average AGI for incoming movers exceeded that of out-movers by $3,862. This is a small negative flow with a favorable income mix, not proof of tenant demand. Investor loans represented 4.93% of 142 purchase mortgages, indicating the observed investor footprint but not bidding intensity or all-cash competition. Realtor.com listing-market measures are not published here, preventing assessment of active visible supply, marketing time, asking-price direction, or seller price reductions.
QCEW recorded 3,240 annual average covered jobs in 2025, down 1.61%, while average weekly covered-worker wages reached $915, up 4.21%. Education and health services accounts for 37.27% of private covered jobs and is the largest disclosed private supersector, not the whole economy. This labor evidence does not measure resident employment, unemployment or a forecast. Before a commitment, obtain actual achieved and asking rents, lease turnover and operating costs; property-level flood and insurance records; and MLS listing, pending and closed-sale evidence. Their absence prevents a yield conclusion, a local demand read, and a property-specific hazard budget.