Union County presents a valuation-versus-income tension: Zillow’s June 2026 median home value is $363,556, up 3.98% year over year, while the annual 2025 FHFA repeat-transaction HPI rose 9.98%. FHFA supports a positive historical price direction but is not a dollar value; its observation differs in both vintage and method from Zillow’s measure. Investigating buyers should test whether acquisition basis is supported by property income, rather than treat either series as a closing-price comp.
Median asking rent is $1,579 monthly, with a supplied 5.21% gross yield before expenses against the Zillow value. This is measured market rent. HUD’s $1,154 two-bedroom Fair Market Rent is instead a payment standard, not an asking-rent estimate. The 1.10% effective property-tax rate qualifies the gross-yield screen because financing, insurance, repairs, vacancy and other operating costs are not published. Asset-specific tax bills and operating statements are needed to assess net cash flow.
Demand evidence is mixed, not proof of tenant or buyer demand. Annual QCEW covered workplace employment declined 0.69%; Manufacturing, the largest disclosed private supersector, represents 26.20% of private covered employment. This is neither resident employment nor an unemployment measure. Tax-return migration shows a net outflow of 22 households, with departing households averaging $21,420 more AGI than arrivals. Investor purchase mortgages represented 8.72% of purchase mortgages: non-owner participation, not the full buyer pool.
Inland flood is the dominant hazard; modeled annual building-value loss is 0.21%. It is not an insurance quote, so review location, elevation, policy premium and deductible, claims history and flood maps. Realtor.com MLS listing evidence—median asking price, active listings, days on market and reduced-share data—is not published; visible supply, marketing time and seller concessions cannot be assessed. Closed-sale comps, vacancy, turnover, unit-level lease comps and insurance costs are also not published, preventing conclusions on exit liquidity, stabilized net operating income or transferability to a target property.