Chicot County presents a low-entry-price but thin-evidence underwriting tension: Zillow’s county median home value is $93,173, down 5.8% year over year. That decline can improve entry pricing, but it is not evidence of a bargain or a future reversal. Investors dependent on durable rental cash flow or resale depth should investigate rather than rely on the value metric alone.
Measured market rent is not published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR is $880 per month, but it is a payment standard, not an asking-rent estimate and cannot substitute for rent in a yield calculation. The 0.49% effective property-tax rate and $436 median annual tax identify disclosed tax burden, yet do not resolve operating costs. The falling Zillow value and tax figures must be tested against actual achievable rent, vacancy, insurance and repairs at the property level.
County workplace data offer limited demand context: 2,668 annual average covered jobs rose 0.19%, while average weekly covered-worker pay reached $867 after a 3.83% increase. These are workplace, not resident, employment measures and are not a forecast. Net tax-return migration was negative 59 households, although incoming movers’ average AGI was $7,073 higher than outgoing movers’; that mix does not establish tenant demand. Investor purchase mortgages represented 18.18% of purchases, or 8 of 44, showing participation but not all buyer activity or competitive intensity.
Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and modeled climate loss is 0.21% of building value per year; it is a county-level modeled exposure, not a property insurance quote or expected cash loss. No FHFA annual repeat-transaction HPI observation is published, so Zillow’s direction cannot be cross-checked with that distinct method. Realtor.com MLS listing-market measures—listing price, active listings, days on market and reduction share—are also not published, preventing an assessment of asking-price conditions, visible supply, marketing time or seller concessions. Next checks are property-specific flood and insurance terms, market rents, lease-up and vacancy, expense records and closed-sale comps.