Pottawattamie County, IA

Pottawattamie County presents a yield-versus-carrying-cost and flood-resilience tension. Zillow’s 2026-06 median home value is $244,538 and its median asking rent is $1,356 per month, producing the supplied 6.65% gross yield before costs. An income-focused buyer should investigate property-level rent durability and flood exposure; a buyer relying on appreciation or a headline yield should be cautious. This is a county screen, not evidence that a particular property can achieve the median rent.

Zillow’s home-value change was positive, while asking-rent change was 3.08% year over year, so the rent measure edged ahead over that observation; neither is a guarantee of net income. The 1.57% effective property-tax rate and $3,067 median annual tax are material carrying-cost inputs against the pre-cost yield. HUD’s $1,368 FMR is a payment standard, not an asking-rent estimate; it should not replace measured market rent or be used to recalculate yield. The record supplies no vacancy, operating expense, insurance, or rent-by-unit evidence, preventing net-yield underwriting.

For 2025, FHFA’s repeat-transaction HPI rose 5.53% annually and 51.35% cumulatively over its reported horizon. It supports positive price direction relative to Zillow, but it is an index rather than a dollar home value, and its method and vintage cannot be averaged with Zillow’s value measure. QCEW reports county workplace covered employment increased 0.98%, with a $1,114 average weekly covered-worker wage. Trade, transportation, and utilities is the largest disclosed private supersector, but it does not describe the whole county economy. These are annual covered-workplace measures, not resident employment, unemployment, or a forecast.

Migration is close to flat at 28 net tax-return households, while incoming mover AGI was $1,449 below outgoing mover AGI. This gives little evidence of broad in-mover purchasing power. Investor mortgages accounted for 182 of 1,288 purchase mortgages, a 14.13% non-owner-occupant share, indicating a meaningful competing buyer channel but not cash-buying or total transaction demand. Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and modeled annual climate loss equals 0.17% of building value; it should be paired with parcel flood zone, elevation, insurance, and deductible review. Realtor.com MLS listing price, active listings, days on market, and price-reduction measures are not published, so visible supply, seller concessions, and marketing time cannot be assessed.