Rock County presents a valuation-versus-income underwriting tension: price measures are rising, while household movement does not clearly broaden the local tenant or buyer base. Rental investors should investigate unit-level rent and flood costs before treating appreciation as support for cash flow. Zillow’s county median home value was $275,490 in 2026-06, up 5.91% year over year. Separately, FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI increased 6.89% year over year. The index supports the direction of Zillow’s measure but is not a home value; the sources use different methods and vintages and should not be averaged.
Rental economics remain unresolved. No median asking market rent is published, so gross yield cannot be calculated. HUD’s $973 FMR is a payment standard, not an asking-rent estimate, and cannot fill that gap. Carrying-cost screening should use the reported 0.71% effective property-tax rate and $1,590 median annual tax, while confirming the specific parcel’s assessment, tax bill, insurance, and utilities. These county figures do not establish operating expense or rent coverage for an individual property.
Workplace data offer a partial demand signal rather than a resident labor-market reading. Annual QCEW reports 3,900 covered jobs located in the county, up 5.72%, with a $1,070 average weekly covered-worker wage. Trade, transportation, and utilities is the largest disclosed private supersector, not a description of the whole economy. Tax-return migration was negative, and outbound movers’ average income exceeded inbound movers’ by $8,237. Twelve investor purchases among 98 total purchases equal the reported 12.24% share, showing some non-owner participation but not rental demand or the full buyer mix.
Risk limits are material. Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and modeled expected annual building loss equals 0.14% of building value; this is a modeled ratio, not a dollar loss or a parcel-specific insurance quote. Realtor.com listing-market evidence—median asking price, active listings, marketing time, and price reductions—is not published, preventing a read on visible supply, seller concessions, or marketing pace. Next checks are market asking rents and lease terms, parcel flood zone and insurance, operating costs, and MLS or pending-sale evidence; without them, neither cash-flow coverage nor exit liquidity can be underwritten.