Knox County is a verification case rather than a clear directional call. Zillow’s June 2026 county median home value is $449,601, down 1.35% year over year, while FHFA’s 2025 annual repeat-transaction HPI increased 3.76%. The observations have different vintages and methods: FHFA’s index is not a home value and should not be combined with Zillow’s change. Buyers setting an acquisition basis should investigate current comparable sales; those relying on continued appreciation should be cautious.
At the Zillow county observation, median asking rent is $1,742 per month, up 3.47% year over year, and the supplied gross yield is 4.65% before expenses. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard, not an estimate of asking rent, so it cannot replace the measured market rent in a yield calculation. The 1.17% effective property-tax rate is a carrying-cost consideration; county medians do not establish a particular parcel’s tax bill, insurance cost, or net income.
Demand and competition evidence is supportive but narrow. Tax-return migration netted 27 households, and the average income of incoming movers exceeded that of outmovers by $22,604; this identifies mover composition, not tenant demand. Among 419 purchases, investors represented 7.64%, indicating some non-occupant mortgage activity but not asset-level bidding pressure. QCEW reports 16,950 annual average covered jobs at county workplaces, up 0.45%; trade, transportation, and utilities is the largest disclosed private supersector, not the whole economy or resident employment.
Hurricane is the dominant hazard, and the modeled annual climate loss ratio is 0.10% of building value; that county-level model does not set a property’s flood, wind, deductible, or insurance exposure. Realtor.com listing price, active-listing, days-on-market, and price-reduction data are not published in this record, preventing a read on visible MLS supply, seller concessions, and marketing time. Property-level insurance, operating expenses, vacancy, condition, and rent comparables are also absent, so net yield and asset-specific liquidity cannot be underwritten.