Roanoke County presents a workable gross-rent screen but a less settled purchase screen: Zillow’s county median home value is $343,352 and the supplied gross yield is 5.43% before costs. Investors able to verify neighborhood rents, taxes, and flood exposure should investigate; those requiring demonstrated sale-market depth or net-income evidence should remain cautious. The evidence is county-level, so it cannot establish a property’s lease-up or resale outcome.
Measured median asking market rent is $1,554 per month, distinct from the $1,254 HUD two-bedroom Fair Market Rent payment standard; FMR is not an asking-rent estimate. The published yield uses market rent, but it excludes operating costs. Zillow’s June 2026 county value change was positive. Separately, FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI increased 4.52%. These methods and labeled periods cannot be averaged into one appreciation rate. The effective property-tax rate is 0.85%, with median annual tax of $2,436, a carrying-cost input that requires parcel assessment confirmation.
Realtor.com’s June 2026 MLS listing market shows 297 active listings, higher than a year earlier, a 46-day median marketing time, and 22.86% of listings reduced. Those are asking-side supply and seller-concession measures, not closed-sale pricing or proof of buyer demand. Migration is modestly positive at 69 net tax-return households, while the average AGI of movers in exceeded movers out by $21,251; this is a composition clue rather than evidence of renter demand. Investor purchase-mortgage share was 6.81% among 1,204 total purchases, which records some non-owner activity but misses cash-buyer behavior.
Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and modeled annual building-value loss ratio is 0.10%; that county-level model cannot substitute for parcel flood zone, elevation, deductible, or insurance quotes. QCEW’s 2025 annual figures describe covered jobs at county workplaces, not resident employment or a forecast; Trade, transportation, and utilities is the largest disclosed private supersector, not the whole economy. Missing vacancy, achieved concessions, lease terms, operating expenses, debt terms, insurance premiums, parcel tax assessment, and closed-sale comparables prevent a net-cash-flow, debt-coverage, or exit-price conclusion.