Hays County, TX

Hays County presents an income-versus-resale tension: buyers who can verify property-level costs should investigate the available rent case, while buyers reliant on near-term price stability should be cautious. Zillow’s county measure is weakening, and property-tax and inland-flood exposure may narrow income after expenses. This is a county screen only, not evidence that each property—or the Austin metro—will behave similarly.

Zillow reports a $373,087 median home value and $1,571 monthly median asking rent for 2026-06, down 4.84% and 2.54% year over year, respectively. Its published 5.05% gross yield is market-rent income before costs, not net return. HUD Fair Market Rent for two bedrooms is a payment standard, not an asking-rent estimate; it cannot replace market rent or justify another yield. The 1.66% effective property-tax rate raises carrying costs. FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI declined 0.13% year over year; it is an index, not a home value, and its method and vintage cannot be merged with Zillow’s change.

QCEW’s 2025 annual average of covered jobs at county workplaces rose 2.99%, which is not resident employment or an unemployment reading. Tax-return migration was net positive by 3,311 households, and incoming movers’ average income exceeded outgoing movers’ by $15,841; this is a favorable composition signal but does not establish renter demand. Investor purchase mortgages to non-occupants were 11.53% of purchases, a competing buyer channel rather than the whole market. In Realtor.com’s 2026-06 MLS listing market, 1,660 active listings had a 64-day median marketing time, 25.2% had price reductions, and the pending-to-active ratio was 41.84%. These are asking-market supply, seller-concession and marketing measures, not closed-sale pricing or proof of buyer demand.

Modeled expected building loss of 0.13% annually is consistent with inland flood as the dominant hazard, but it is not a property-specific loss estimate. Insurance quotes, flood-zone and elevation details, drainage conditions, closed-sale comparables, vacancy, operating expenses and financing terms are not published. Their absence prevents a net-yield, cash-flow and property-level hazard conclusion; underwriting should test those items alongside actual tax bills and lease terms.