Kent County presents a decision tension: a positive headline gross yield against carrying-cost, supply, and flood diligence rather than a simple appreciation case. For buyers able to verify operating costs and flood exposure, Zillow’s 2026-06 county median home value was $361,485, up 4.06%, while the published median asking rent was $1,630 per month and the stated gross yield was 5.41%. Investors needing durable net cash flow should be cautious until taxes, insurance, repairs, and vacancy are property-specific.
The yield uses measured market rent, not HUD Fair Market Rent; FMR is a payment standard and cannot substitute for asking rent. The effective property-tax rate is 1.11%, with a $3,217 median annual tax, material carrying-cost inputs beside price. FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI rose 4.48% annually and 60.19% cumulatively over five years. It supports Zillow’s positive direction but is not a home value and should not be averaged with Zillow’s differently dated measure.
Realtor.com’s 2026-06 MLS evidence shows 888 active listings, an increase in visible supply, a reported median marketing time, and a published price-reduced share. These are asking-market supply and seller-concession signals—not sale prices or proof of buyer demand. The supplied QCEW annual workplace series identifies Education and health services as the largest disclosed private supersector; it is not resident employment or a forecast. Tax-return migration is slightly negative: more households moved out than in, and incoming movers’ average AGI was below outgoing movers’. Investor purchase mortgages represented 4.52% of total purchases, a minority of recorded activity that does not capture all-cash investors.
Inland flood is the named dominant hazard, and modeled annual climate loss equals 0.09% of building value; it is a modeled expected loss, not a property insurance quote. The county record lacks insurance premiums, flood-zone status, deductible terms, vacancy, operating expenses, financing terms, property condition, lease mix, and closed-sale comparables. Those gaps prevent a net-yield conclusion, a parcel-level hazard assessment, and confirmation that MLS conditions translate into executable purchase pricing. Check each address’s tax bill, flood disclosure and insurance quote, rent roll, and recent closed comparables.