Polk County presents a valuation-confirmation problem: Zillow’s median home value was $260,727, up 6.31% in its 2026-06 county observation, while FHFA’s repeat-transaction HPI fell 9.24% in its separately labeled 2025 annual observation. Those measures differ in method and vintage, so they cannot be combined; the conflict makes this a county for investors who can verify recent comparable sales and be cautious about relying on headline appreciation.
Market rent is not published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD’s $1,233 two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard, not an asking-rent estimate, and cannot fill that gap. The effective property-tax rate is 0.50%, useful county burden context but not a parcel estimate or a substitute for expenses. A median annual tax is published, yet underwriting still needs the property-specific assessed value, tax bill, insurance, repairs, and market rent before price can be reconciled to carrying cost and income.
Realtor.com’s 2026-06 MLS listing-market evidence is mixed: median listing prices and active listings fell year over year, while 57 median days on market was shorter and 22.33% of listings had price reductions. These are asking-price, visible-supply, marketing-time, and concession signals—not closed sales or proof of buyer demand. Migration shows 128 net tax-return households, and incoming movers’ average AGI exceeded outgoing movers’ by $8,136. Investor mortgages were 7.93% of purchase mortgages, or 13 of 164: identifiable competition, but not evidence of cash buyers, tenure change, or all transactions.
In QCEW’s 2025 annual county labor data, 2,667 covered jobs at county workplaces were down 3.33% year over year; this is neither resident employment nor a forecast. Leisure and hospitality is the largest disclosed private supersector, not the whole economy. Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and the modeled annual building-value loss ratio is 0.19%. Flood-zone status, claim history, insurance quotes, utilities, and property condition are not published, preventing parcel-level risk pricing.