Crane County has a valuation-versus-liquidity tension: Zillow’s county median home value is $203,070, up 3.92% year over year, while Realtor.com reports a year-over-year decline in median MLS asking price. Those are different measures, and the Realtor figure is neither a closed-sale price nor proof of demand. The record therefore warrants investigation by buyers able to verify current comparables and rental income; buyers dependent on predictable resale depth should be cautious.
Published market rent is absent, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR of $980 per month is a payment standard, not market asking rent, and cannot fill that gap. The effective property-tax rate is 1.04%, with median annual tax of $1,346. Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and the modeled climate-loss ratio is 0.07% of building value per year. Parcel-level insurance, elevation and flood-zone evidence are not published.
Labor and purchaser evidence do not resolve that uncertainty. QCEW lists 1,337 annual average covered jobs at county workplaces, up 2.37%, while the covered-worker average weekly wage was $1,410, down 3.56%; these are not resident employment or unemployment measures. Trade, transportation, and utilities—the largest disclosed private supersector—accounted for 33.63% of private covered jobs, not the whole economy. Net migration was minus 12 tax-return households, and average AGI of outmovers exceeded incomers by $5,479. Realtor.com showed 12 active listings, 38 median days on market, an 8.70% pending ratio and no price-reduced listings: visible supply and marketing evidence, not confirmed buyer demand. Non-occupant purchase mortgages were 3 of 51 purchases, or 5.88%; cash-investor activity is not measured.
No FHFA annual repeat-transaction HPI is published, preventing an independent test of Zillow’s direction; it must not be merged into a growth rate. Missing market rents and lease terms prevent yield or income-stability underwriting, while absent closed-sale comps and parcel-specific flood and insurance costs prevent a supported exit-price or carrying-cost conclusion.