Delta County’s decision tension is an income screen that must withstand conflicting price evidence. Zillow’s 2026-06 county median home value was $416,361, up 2.47%, while FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI—an appreciation index, not a home value—fell 0.61%. These are different methods and periods and cannot be combined into a growth rate. Buyers relying on resale stability should validate closed-sale comps; buyers focused on income should verify leases.
Published median asking rent is $1,655 per month, producing the supplied 4.77% gross yield before costs. It is measured market rent. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR of $1,114 is a payment standard, not an asking-rent estimate, and cannot replace market rent in a yield calculation. The effective property-tax rate is 0.31%, a carrying-cost claim against gross income. Insurance, maintenance, vacancy, financing, and parcel-level tax bills are not published, preventing net-yield calculation.
Realtor.com MLS listing-market evidence calls for negotiation review rather than a conclusion about sales: median marketing time was 66 days and 18.41% of listings had a price reduction; these report marketing time and seller concessions, not closed-sale prices or buyer demand by themselves. In the supplied 2025 annual QCEW period, covered workplace employment fell 2.20%, not a resident-employment measure or forecast. Tax-return migration was positive by 192 households, and incoming movers had higher average AGI than outgoing movers. Investor participation was 3.13% of purchases, so this measure shows limited investor buyer participation.
Modeled climate loss is 0.21% of building value per year and inland flood is the named dominant hazard; this is county-level expected loss, not an address-level damage estimate. Flood zone, elevation, insurance quotes and deductibles, condition, achieved rents, lease renewals, vacancy, repairs, financing, and closed-sale comps are not published. Those gaps prevent property-level net-cash-flow, insurability, valuation, and exit-liquidity conclusions. Next checks are an address flood-and-insurance review, rent-roll verification, and closed-sale plus operating-cost review.