Perry County is a price-validation rather than yield case: the value signal is positive, but its strength is not corroborated at the same pace by the separately dated FHFA index, and market rent is not published. Investors with subject-level rent, insurance, and sales comparables should investigate; those needing a demonstrated gross-yield case should be cautious. The thesis is that carrying costs and flood exposure deserve equal weight with appreciation evidence, not that either price series proves exit value.
The Zillow county observation reports a $238,336 median home value and 7.26% year-over-year increase. FHFA's 2025 repeat-transaction HPI, which is not a home value, reports a 1.94% annual gain and 41.71% cumulative five-year change. Different methods and observation labels mean neither rate should be averaged or treated as the other's confirmation. No median asking market rent is published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD's $952 two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard, not asking rent. The effective property-tax rate is 0.74%, with $1,395 median annual tax; assess those carrying costs against a subject assessment and actual rent.
County workplace data show 9,623 annual average covered jobs, up 0.85%, and a $1,038 average weekly covered-worker wage. Manufacturing is the largest disclosed private supersector at 30.40% of private covered jobs; this identifies concentration in disclosed covered employment, not the whole economy or resident labor market. Tax-return migration was negative 23 households, although moving-in households averaged $5,537 more AGI than moving-out households. Investor borrowers made 20 of 197 purchases, or 10.15%. That participation is a buyer-competition indicator, not evidence that rental demand or resale liquidity is deep.
Modeled climate loss equals 0.27% of building value per year and the named dominant hazard is inland flood; this is a modeled loss ratio, not a dollar property loss or an insurance quote. No Realtor.com MLS listing price, active-listing, days-on-market, or price-reduction data are published, so visible supply, seller concessions, and marketing time cannot be underwritten. Also missing are market rent, insurance, flood-zone, property-condition, and transaction-comparable evidence; without them, a property-level cash-flow, hazard-cost, and acquisition-price conclusion remains unsupported.