Leon County, FL

Leon County’s decision tension is a measured income screen against less accommodating resale evidence. Zillow’s county observation for 2026-06 shows a $298,358 median home value and $1,507 monthly median asking rent, producing the supplied 6.06% gross yield before costs; Zillow’s value change was 1.06%. FHFA’s annual 2025 repeat-transaction HPI increased 1.62%; both changes are positive, but their supplied labels and methods differ. FHFA is an appreciation index rather than a home value, and its change must not be averaged with Zillow’s. Income-focused buyers should investigate carrying costs; buyers dependent on quick resale should be cautious.

Measured market rent, rather than HUD FMR, supports the stated gross yield. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR is a $1,352 monthly payment standard, not an estimate of asking rent, and cannot replace market rent in yield work. At the stated home value, the effective property-tax rate is 0.79%. That carrying cost matters alongside modeled expected annual climate loss of 0.20% of building value from the dominant inland-flood hazard. County-level measures do not identify parcel exposure or insurance cost.

Realtor.com’s MLS listing-market evidence shows fewer visible active listings, median listing price down 3.15%, marketing time at 48 days, and 17.38% of listings price-reduced. These are asking-price, marketing-time and seller-concession measures, not closed-sale prices or standalone proof of buyer demand. The QCEW record shows rising annual covered workplace employment and wages, with Education and health services the largest disclosed private supersector; it is neither resident employment nor a forecast. Tax-return migration shows net outflow and lower arriving-household average income than departing households, which tempers a workplace-growth reading. Investor mortgages were 346 of 2,824 purchases, or 12.25%, making non-occupant competition present but not the whole purchase market.

The record does not publish insurance premiums, flood-zone status or claim history, debt terms, operating costs, vacancy and turnover, lease concessions, neighborhood rent dispersion, or closed-sale comparables. Those gaps prevent calculating net yield, flood-adjusted carrying cost, debt coverage, or exit value from county evidence. Required next checks are parcel elevation and insurance quotes, leases and renewal records, operating statements, debt assumptions, and closed-sale and active-listing comparables for the target submarket.