DeKalb is a screening candidate for an income-focused buyer, but the tension is supportive rent against softer Zillow pricing and carrying risk. Zillow’s median home value was $339,259 in 2026-06, down 2.63% year over year, while median asking rent was $1,781, up 2.62%; supplied gross yield is 6.3% before costs. Investigate parcel flood and insurance evidence; buyers relying on appreciation or thin reserves should be cautious.
That yield is not a valuation conclusion. Market rent is asking-rent evidence; HUD’s $1,820 two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard, not market rent, and market rent is 97.9% of it. Effective property-tax rate is 0.93%, before insurance, repairs, vacancy, management, or financing. Zillow’s result should not be blended with FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI: FHFA records 0.69% annual appreciation, an index—not a home value. Different vintages and methods leave price direction mixed, not a single growth rate.
Demand evidence is constructive but uneven. QCEW’s 2025 annual covered employment and covered-worker wages both grew, with education and health services the largest disclosed private supersector; this is workplace-based county evidence, not resident employment or the whole economy. Tax-return flows show net migration of -2,301, and incoming movers’ average AGI trails outgoing movers’ by $3,651; that weakens any assumption of broad-based local demand. Realtor.com’s MLS evidence shows active listings down 18.49%, while median marketing time is 54 days; these are visible supply and marketing measures, not closed-sale prices or proof of demand. Investor purchases were 693 of 7,843 total purchases, or 8.84%, indicating competition without market dominance.
Underwriting is limited by county aggregation. The modeled annual building-value loss ratio is 0.10%, but inland flood is the dominant hazard; that average does not establish a parcel’s flood zone, elevation, deductible, coverage, or premium. The record lacks operating expenses, vacancy, financing, property condition, unit mix, lease-level rents, closed-sale comparables, and subject insurance. Thus the gross yield can screen deals but cannot establish NOI, cash flow, or post-cost return. Next checks: parcel flood and insurance review; subject rent and expense underwriting; closed-sale and competing-rental verification. These county figures do not show that DeKalb represents Atlanta.