Columbia County’s decision tension is a $134,110 Zillow median home value in 2026-06, down 2.23%, alongside an FHFA repeat-transaction HPI gain of 1.52% in its 2025 observation. These use different vintages and methods: FHFA is an appreciation index, not a home value, and neither converts to nor confirms an exact Zillow growth rate. This is a due-diligence case rather than broad price conviction; investors needing stable tenant income and flood-conscious assets should be cautious.
The $134,110 Zillow value and 0.47% effective property-tax rate provide a purchase benchmark and a tax-burden input, but they do not establish cash flow. No median asking market rent is published, so gross yield cannot be computed or compared with carrying costs. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR is $903 per month, a payment standard rather than asking rent, and cannot replace that missing measure. Parcel assessment, insurance, repairs, vacancy and lease evidence are also not published.
Demand evidence is mixed. QCEW reports 7,979 annual-average covered jobs at county workplaces, down 1.57%; it is not resident employment, unemployment or a forecast. Manufacturing is the largest disclosed private supersector, representing 30.07% of private covered employment. Net migration was negative by 23 tax-return households, and departing movers had higher average AGI than arriving movers, a caution flag for local income assumptions. The investor measure shows 19 non-owner purchase mortgages among 144 total, or 13.19%; it indicates participation, not tenant demand or a rent floor.
Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and the modeled climate-loss ratio is 0.15% of building value expected lost per year. That is a model output rather than a parcel-specific loss estimate. Realtor.com listing measures—asking price, active listings, marketing time, reductions and pending ratio—are not published, so visible MLS supply and seller concessions cannot be assessed. Next checks are address-level flood exposure, insurance terms, property taxes, achieved rents, lease turnover, vacancy, and closed-sale comparables.