Jewell County’s decision tension is a $122,766 median home value with a 10.78% year-over-year Zillow increase, but no published market rent to test whether that price supports income. The Zillow figure is a county median home-value estimate, not a sale-price series. Cash-flow underwriting should be cautious; buyers prepared to verify lease income, tax bills, and flood exposure at the parcel level have the clearest reason to investigate.
Gross yield cannot be computed because median asking rent is not published. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR is $877 per month, but it is a payment standard rather than an estimate of asking rent and cannot substitute for rent. The effective property-tax rate is 1.93%, and median annual tax is $1,247; these county measures identify carrying-cost pressure but do not establish the bill on a particular property. Insurance and maintenance costs are also absent, preventing a full operating-cost test.
Workplace evidence is mixed. QCEW annual covered employment was 701, down 3.18%, while covered average weekly wage was $722, up 3.29%. The largest disclosed private supersector, Trade, transportation, and utilities, represented 48.08% of private covered employment, leaving a concentrated employment base. Tax-return migration was negative by 12 households, although incoming movers had average AGI $28,423 higher than outgoing movers; this indicates a smaller mover flow with a higher-income mix, not proven tenant demand. The purchase-mortgage record shows zero non-occupant purchases among seven total purchases, so its reported 0% investor share is a thin read on buyer competition.
Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and modeled expected climate loss equals 0.20% of building value per year; it is modeled county-level exposure, not a property insurance quote. No FHFA repeat-transaction HPI observation is published, so Zillow’s direction cannot be checked against that distinct method. Realtor.com MLS listing price, active-listing, days-on-market, and price-reduction data are not published, preventing a read on visible supply, marketing time, or seller concessions. Next checks are parcel flood history and elevation, insurance terms, current rent comps, property-specific taxes, condition, and closed-sale evidence.