Madison County has a valuation-versus-exit tension: investors relying on quick resale should be cautious, whereas rental underwriters should investigate whether published income survives carrying costs and flood exposure. Zillow’s county observation for 2026-06 puts the median home value at $330,059, up 4.03% year over year. FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI rose 3.79% annually and 73.92% over five years. That index confirms positive direction but is not a home value; its method and vintage cannot be averaged with Zillow into a single appreciation rate.
The published median asking market rent is $1,349 monthly, supporting the stated 4.9% gross yield on the supplied price before costs. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR is $1,331; market rent is above it, but FMR is a payment standard rather than an asking-rent estimate. The effective property-tax rate is 0.76%, a recurring burden alongside unreported insurance, repairs and vacancy. Thus the record supports a gross, not net, income view; it cannot establish debt-service coverage or operating margin.
Realtor.com’s MLS listing-market evidence shows active listings up 44.71% and 24.9% of listings price-reduced. Those are visible supply and seller-concession measures, not closed-sale prices or stand-alone proof of buyer demand. QCEW reports annual covered workplace employment growth of 4.93%; Trade, transportation, and utilities is the largest disclosed private supersector at 22.2% of private covered jobs, not the whole economy or resident employment. Net migration was 223 tax-return households, with incoming average AGI exceeding outgoing by $12,362. Investors comprised 4.85% of purchase mortgages, or 15 of 309, limiting the evidence of investor buyer competition.
Modeled expected annual building-value loss is 0.10%, consistent with inland flood as the named dominant hazard, but a county average does not identify parcel-level flood exposure or insurance cost. The record does not publish vacancy, lease renewals, property condition, insurance quotes, flood-zone or elevation data, operating expenses, financing terms, or closed-sale comparables. Those omissions prevent net-yield, property-specific climate-cost, and resale-value underwriting; next checks are address-level hazard and insurance review, rent comps, expenses, and sale comps.