Pulaski County presents a qualified income case, not a clean growth case. The Zillow 2026-06 observation puts the median home value at $212,861; price growth was 4.07%. FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI rose 1.10%, a different vintage and measure, not a dollar valuation. This gap requires reconciliation, not averaging. County-level appreciation evidence therefore merits caution for anyone underwriting growth or using Pulaski as a Little Rock metro proxy.
Median asking market rent is $1,198 per month, and the supplied gross yield is 6.75% before costs. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR is $1,147, a payment standard rather than asking-rent evidence; the supplied ratio calculates to a 4.40% market-rent premium. Rent grew more slowly than the cited home-value measure. The 0.77% effective property-tax rate is a recurring cost that reduces NOI. Missing property-level vacancy, insurance, repairs, management, and financing prevent a net-return conclusion.
Demand and competition are mixed. Tax-return flows show more households leaving than arriving, while average AGI was higher among out-movers; that is a demand caution but not a renter-turnover measure. QCEW covered jobs and wages increased, but this workplace evidence is not resident employment; Trade, transportation, and utilities is the largest disclosed private supersector, not the whole economy. Realtor.com shows active listings up 5.18% and 20.49% price-reduced listings: visible supply and concessions, not closed-sale demand. The record counts 975 investor purchases among 4,625 total purchases, indicating material nonoccupant competition without proving price-setting power.
Inland flood is the dominant hazard; modeled annual building loss is 0.20%. Obtain parcel flood-zone, elevation, claims, drainage, and insurance evidence before applying that county average to a property. The record lacks lease-level rent comps, vacancy, operating expenses, capital needs, financing terms, closed-sale data, and resident labor measures. Those gaps allow the supplied gross yield to be reported, but not achievable rent, NOI, cash-on-cash return, or resale liquidity to be validated. Next checks should focus on the property file, flood and insurance underwriting, and comparable leases and sales.