McIntosh County’s decision tension is modest price appreciation against unmeasured rental income and inland-flood exposure. Yield-focused buyers should be cautious, while buyers able to verify property-level rents, insurance, and flood conditions have a specific diligence agenda. Zillow’s June 2026 county median home value was $200,796, up 3.52% year over year. FHFA’s annual 2025 repeat-transaction index rose 2.79%, with a cumulative five-year gain of 62.93%. The direction aligns, but the sources use different methods and vintages and cannot be combined into one growth rate.
No county market rent is published, so gross yield cannot be calculated. The $937 HUD FMR is a payment standard, not evidence of asking rent or collectible income. The effective property-tax rate is 0.57%, and median annual property tax is $832; neither figure should be applied directly to Zillow’s home-value measure without an assessed-value and parcel-specific tax review. This leaves the core price-to-rent and carrying-cost relationship unresolved.
Tax-return migration showed a net inflow of 118 households, and incoming movers’ average AGI exceeded outgoing movers’ by $2,523. That is supportive demographic evidence, not proof of tenant absorption. Nonoccupant mortgage participation was 11.16% of purchases, showing some investor presence but not bidding intensity or cash-buyer activity. QCEW counted 4,621 annual average covered jobs at county workplaces, up 0.37%, with a $768 average weekly wage that rose 8.17%. Trade, transportation, and utilities represented 36.1% of private covered employment, a concentration that should not be read as the entire county economy.
Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and the modeled climate-loss ratio is 0.22% of building value annually; it is a modeled ratio, not a dollar loss estimate or an insurance quote. Missing market rent prevents yield underwriting, while absent Realtor.com listing price, active-listing, days-on-market, and price-reduction figures prevent an MLS-based assessment of visible supply and marketing conditions. Parcel flood zone, elevation, mitigation history, insurance terms, condition, and operating expenses are also not published, preventing a property-level loss allowance or net-income conclusion.