Vanderburgh County, IN

Vanderburgh County presents a rent-supported but demand-sensitive underwriting case. The tension is that asking-rent growth (5.36%) exceeded Zillow value growth (4.01%), while net migration was negative at -139 and arriving movers' average AGI was $50,483 versus $58,931 for those leaving. That combination warrants investigation by an underwriter testing tenant durability and exit liquidity, and caution from anyone treating rent growth as proof of broad demand. This is a county record, not evidence for the wider Evansville metro.

Zillow's 2026-06 county median home value was $205,305 and median asking rent was $1,041 per month; gross yield is 6.08% before operating costs. HUD's two-bedroom FMR was $1,113, and market rent was 93.5% of that payment standard; FMR is not asking-rent evidence. The separately labeled 2025 FHFA repeat-transaction HPI rose 3.83%, confirming direction but not sharing Zillow's vintage or method and not representing a home value. An effective property-tax rate of 0.80% is a recurring carrying cost. Net yield cannot be assessed without insurance, vacancy, repairs, management, financing and other expenses.

Demand evidence is mixed. QCEW records annual covered jobs located in the county, not resident employment; employment growth was 0.25% and average weekly wage growth was 4.28%. Education and health services was the largest disclosed private supersector, so it is only a partial view of the economy. Total purchase mortgages were 2,135, with non-occupant investors at 10.63%: measurable participation, not dominance or a guaranteed buyer pool. Realtor.com listing fields are not published, so median asking price, visible supply, marketing time, price reductions and pending activity cannot test buyer competition.

Risk review should start with inland flood: modeled annual building-value loss is 0.18%, not an insurance quote, parcel determination or full loss history. Check parcel maps and claims, insurance availability and premiums, complete expenses and financing, and actual leases. Missing Realtor evidence prevents judging rent-clearing speed; missing condition, capex and insurance data prevents converting gross yield to net return. Migration and QCEW are county aggregates, while investor share covers purchase mortgages, so neither establishes this property's tenant or resale depth.