Calhoun County presents an underwriting tension: Zillow’s June 2026 median home value was $207,036, up 2.51% year over year, while FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI—an index rather than a home value—rose 5.33% year over year and 53.84% over its reported five-year measure. These sources have different vintages and methods; they support a positive direction but cannot be averaged. Investors needing current income evidence should investigate further, while those relying on appreciation alone should be cautious because market rent is unpublished.
Housing economics cannot be completed: no median asking market rent is published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD’s $1,276 two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard, not a rent estimate, and must not fill that gap. The supplied 0.41% effective property-tax rate and $704 median annual tax identify only part of carrying costs; insurance, maintenance, financing, and property-level tax evidence are not published.
Demand evidence is mixed and incomplete. Tax-return migration shows a net inflow of 16 households, with incoming movers’ average AGI exceeding outgoing movers’ by $4,703; this is a county-level demographic signal, not a renter-demand measure. Investors accounted for 1.79% of purchases, indicating limited recorded investor participation without proving an absence of buyer competition. Realtor.com MLS listing-market figures for asking price, active listings, days on market, and price reductions are not published, preventing an assessment of visible supply, marketing time, or seller concessions.
Risk review should begin with inland flood. The modeled annual climate loss ratio is 0.12% of building value; it is a county-level modeled exposure, not a property-loss estimate. QCEW annual average covered employment at county workplaces fell 0.99%, and Manufacturing, the largest disclosed private supersector, represented 37.92% of private covered jobs. This is not resident employment or an unemployment measure. Next checks are parcel flood zone, insurance quotes and claims history, market-rent and lease comps, operating costs, and MLS supply; without them, cash-flow, liquidity, and hazard-adjusted carrying-cost conclusions remain unresolved.