Washington County presents a cross-current for rental underwriting: its measured home value and repeat-transaction index both rise, yet visible MLS seller conditions are softer. Investors who need established income or a short resale window should investigate before treating appreciation as support. Zillow’s 2026-06 county median home value was $191,070, up 4.64%. FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI rose 6.36%. The measures support direction only; they are different vintages and methods, and the HPI is not a home value.
Market rent is not published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR of $973 per month is a payment standard, not an asking-rent estimate, and cannot fill that gap. Carrying-cost screening does have county context: the effective property-tax rate is 0.93%, and median annual property tax is $1,732. Those county figures do not establish a parcel bill, insurance cost, maintenance burden, or a rent-to-price relationship; parcel assessment and operating-cost evidence are needed.
Realtor.com’s MLS listing market shows a median listing-price decline of 8.23% alongside a 9.23% increase in active listings. Those are asking-price and visible-supply evidence, not closed-sale pricing or stand-alone proof of buyer demand. Median marketing time was 50 days and 15.51% of listings had price reductions, conditions an underwriter should test against specific submarkets. QCEW recorded annual covered workplace employment growth of 0.69%; Education and health services was the largest disclosed private supersector, at 27.69% of private covered jobs. Net migration was negative 116 tax-return households, while movers’ average income gap was negative $1,256. Investor mortgages represented 4.72% of 445 purchases, limited county-level evidence on buyer competition rather than a measure of all cash activity.
Modeled climate loss of 0.17% of building value per year aligns with inland flood as the dominant hazard, but it is county-level modeled exposure rather than a site flood determination. The record does not publish market-rent comps, vacancy, lease-up, insurance quotes, flood-zone status, closed-sale comps, parcel assessments, or operating expenses. Those omissions prevent a gross-yield calculation, a property-level flood-and-carrying-cost test, and confirmation that listing-market softness translates to transactability.