Clay County, FL

Clay County presents a yield-versus-price-validation tension: Zillow’s median home value is $339,079 while measured median asking rent is $1,875 monthly and the supplied gross yield is 6.64% before costs. This merits investigation by operators able to verify unit economics; buyers relying on appreciation should be cautious. Zillow reports value down 1.04% year over year, whereas FHFA’s annual repeat-transaction HPI rose 0.26%. These observations have different source periods and methods.

Market asking rent—not HUD’s two-bedroom FMR—supports the yield calculation. The $1,658 FMR is a payment standard, not an estimate of asking rent; market rent is 13.1% above it. The effective property-tax rate is 0.72%, with $2,241 median annual tax, adding a material carrying cost against the stated gross yield. That yield is a pre-cost measure rather than a net-return measure.

Realtor.com’s MLS listing-market evidence shows 26.01% of listings with price reductions. This is a seller-concession measure, not a closed-sale price or proof of buyer demand. Tax-return moves show net migration of 1,343 households, and incoming movers’ average AGI exceeded outgoing movers’ by $3,863. Investor purchase mortgages represented 4.53% of 3,509 purchases, limiting the observed non-owner-occupant component of buyer competition while not identifying competition in a specific submarket.

Risk limits are material: inland flood is the dominant hazard, and modeled annual climate loss equals 0.16% of building value; this is modeled loss rather than an insurance quote. QCEW measures annual covered employment at workplaces in the county, not resident employment; Education and health services is the largest disclosed private supersector, not the full economy. Missing parcel flood-zone data, insurance quotations, property condition, closed-sale comparables, and submarket rent evidence prevent a defensible acquisition-price or property-specific cash-flow conclusion.