Walworth County presents a conflicted entry screen: Zillow’s county median home value was $141,257 in 2026-06, up 4.09% year over year, while the FHFA repeat-transaction HPI fell 3.20% in 2025. That discrepancy makes the county better suited to investors who can verify specific assets and sale comparables, not those relying on a single appreciation narrative. FHFA’s index is not a home value, and the differently dated, differently constructed measures cannot be averaged into one growth rate. Caution is warranted until price evidence is reconciled at property level.
Cash-flow underwriting is incomplete. No county market asking rent is published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR is $980 per month, but it is a payment standard rather than market rent and cannot substitute for one. The 1.31% effective property-tax rate establishes a carrying-cost consideration, although it should not be applied mechanically to Zillow’s median value. Obtain achievable rent, lease terms, utilities, insurance and actual tax bills before setting income or expense assumptions.
Demand evidence is mixed. The 2025 QCEW count was 2,065 covered jobs at county workplaces and a $943 average weekly wage; these are not resident employment or an unemployment rate. Trade, transportation, and utilities was the largest disclosed private supersector, not the whole economy. Tax-return migration was net negative by six households, although entering movers’ average AGI exceeded departing movers’ by $12,837. One of 35 purchase mortgages, or 2.86%, went to non-occupants, a measure that does not establish competition across all transactions.
Risk limits remain material. Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and modeled climate loss equals 0.27% of building value per year; this is neither a site-specific insurance quote nor a dollar loss. The record has seven of eight evidence groups, but market rent and Realtor.com MLS measures of asking prices, active listings, days on market and price reductions are not published in the record. That blocks gross-yield calculation and assessment of visible supply, marketing time and seller concessions. Next checks are parcel flood exposure, elevation, coverage terms, verified rents and expenses, closed comparables, and current MLS detail.