Ward County, ND

Ward County’s decision tension is income against carrying-cost and resilience uncertainty. Its Zillow county median home value is $286,697, median asking rent is $1,146 per month, and supplied gross yield is 4.80% before costs. This warrants investigation by investors who can validate property-level expenses and rent durability; buyers relying primarily on appreciation should be cautious. Countywide evidence cannot establish neighborhood or asset performance.

Measured market rent is distinct from HUD’s two-bedroom FMR: FMR is a payment standard, not an estimate of asking rent or a substitute for the stated yield. The 1.07% effective property-tax rate and $2,859 median annual tax flag carrying costs, but neither identifies the tax bill for a specific asset. Gross yield excludes property tax, insurance, maintenance, vacancy and financing, so net cash flow cannot be calculated from the published record.

Realtor.com’s MLS listing-market evidence gives a qualified competition signal: median marketing time was 31 days, 10.04% of listings had reductions, and the pending-to-active ratio was 124.79%. These are visible-supply, seller-concession and marketing measures—not closed sales or proof of buyer demand by themselves. Tax-return migration shows a net loss of 207 households and outbound movers’ average income exceeded inbound movers’ by $11,741. Investors represented 9.98% of 872 purchase mortgages, indicating participation but not control of financed purchases.

Risk limits remain material. Inland flood is the dominant hazard, while modeled expected annual climate loss is 0.08% of building value; that is neither an insurance quote nor a realized loss. FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI increased, directionally consistent with Zillow’s separate June 2026 home-value gain of 3.56%, but their methods and period labels cannot be combined into one appreciation rate. Missing flood-zone, elevation, insurance, condition, lease-comp, financing and property-level tax evidence prevents a net-yield, hazard-cost or exit-price conclusion; verify closed-sale comparables as well.