Washington County presents a confirmation-versus-carrying-cost question: investigators seeking a modest price point with corroborated appreciation can examine it, while income-focused underwriters should remain cautious until rent evidence is obtained. Zillow reports a $167,675 median home value, up 9.89% year over year. Separately, FHFA’s repeat-transaction HPI rose 8.59% in its annual observation. These movements point in the same direction, but the HPI is not a home value, and the differently dated and constructed series cannot be combined into one appreciation measure.
Price economics remain incomplete. The effective property-tax rate is 1.87%, with a $2,908 median annual tax, a carrying-cost check against value. No county market asking rent is published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD’s $916 two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard rather than market rent and cannot fill that gap. Missing insurance, maintenance, financing, and property-level tax assessment evidence also prevents a full expense or cash-flow conclusion.
Workplace and mover data offer modest support but not a demand verdict. QCEW records 6,219 annual average covered jobs at county workplaces; it is not resident employment or unemployment. Trade, transportation, and utilities is the largest disclosed private supersector, not the whole economy; concentration merits tenant-base review. Tax-return migration shows 339 inbound and 313 outbound households, for net migration of 26; inbound movers’ $58,077 average income trailed outbound movers’ $58,399. The net inflow is small and the income gap argues against treating migration as unqualified purchasing-power support. The reported investor share was 6.06% across 99 purchases, a limited observed non-owner measure rather than a count of all buyers.
Risk limits are material. Inland flood is the named dominant hazard, and modeled annual climate loss equals 0.21% of building value; it is modeled loss, not an insurance quote. No Realtor.com MLS listing price, active-listing, days-on-market, price-reduction, or pending evidence is published, preventing a current visible-supply and seller-concession read. Before a property-level decision, verify market rent, flood zone and insurance terms, taxes from the assessment record, condition, and actual comparable sales; county aggregates cannot establish an individual asset’s income, resale liquidity, or hazard cost.