Charlottesville city presents a spread-versus-entry-basis tension: measured rent supports a 4.90% gross yield, but the Zillow county median home value is $500,295 after a 0.11% annual decline. The $2,044 monthly median asking rent is measured market rent, not a subsidy benchmark. This is a county-level record for operators who can test property-level expenses and rent durability; buyers relying on rapid price gains or unverified flood costs should be cautious.
Rent moved up while value slipped, but the reported yield is gross: it is before property taxes and all other operating costs. The effective property-tax rate is 0.80%, making carrying-cost review material at the stated entry basis. HUD FMR is a payment standard, not an asking-rent estimate, and cannot replace the measured market rent in the yield calculation. Insurance, maintenance, vacancy, and utility evidence is not published, preventing a net-income conclusion.
Demand evidence is mixed rather than conclusive. QCEW reports growth in annual covered employment at county workplaces and in the average covered-worker wage; Leisure and hospitality is the largest disclosed private supersector. These are workplace measures, not resident employment or unemployment. Realtor.com’s MLS market had 76 active listings, and 19.26% carried price reductions; active listings show visible supply and reductions show seller concessions, not closed-sale pricing or buyer demand by themselves. Tax-return households produced net outmigration of 389, although movers in reported average AGI $7,819 above movers out. Non-occupant purchase mortgages accounted for 72 of 326 total purchases, identifying a buyer cohort but not all cash activity.
Risk evidence does not validate a price trend. FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI declined 0.47% annually, while its supplied five-year cumulative change was 47.30%; it is an index, not a home value, and must not be averaged with Zillow’s separately dated county observation. The dominant hazard is inland flood, with modeled annual climate loss of 0.09% of building value. Closed-sale comparables, property-specific flood exposure, insurance quotes, and operating statements are not published in the record; their absence prevents a conclusion on executable value, net yield, or parcel-level hazard cost.