Washington County, UT

Washington County presents an income-versus-exit tension: Zillow’s 2026-06 median home value was $531,496, down 1.15% year over year, while the 2025 FHFA repeat-transaction HPI increased 1.05% annually and 54.94% cumulatively over five years. These are distinct vintages and methods, not competing valuations or a single growth series. Operators able to validate property-level income should investigate; buyers whose case depends on immediate appreciation or rapid resale should be cautious.

Within Zillow’s county observation, median asking rent was $1,936 monthly, up 3.29%, producing a published 4.37% gross yield before operating costs. This is measured market asking rent, unlike HUD’s two-bedroom Fair Market Rent, which is a payment standard and cannot substitute for rent or yield. The effective property-tax rate was 0.42%, and median annual tax was $2,158; neither establishes taxes for a specific parcel. Rent movement relative to price supports an income screen, but the gross measure cannot establish net cash flow.

Realtor.com listing-market evidence looks less tight rather than proving weak buyer demand: it shows 1,995 active MLS listings, 79 median days on market, a 21.72% price-reduced share, and a 30.66% pending-to-active ratio. These are asking-market supply, marketing-time and seller-concession measures, not closed sales. QCEW’s 2025 annual workplace covered employment expanded; Trade, transportation, and utilities was the largest disclosed private supersector, not the entire economy. Net in-migration coincided with inbound mover AGI exceeding outbound by $13,444. Non-occupant investor purchase mortgages accounted for 394 of 3,488 purchases, making them a minority of the buyer base.

Wildfire is the named dominant hazard, and modeled annual climate loss equals 0.36% of building value; this is a modeled loss ratio, not a property-insurance quote or a dollar loss. No parcel-level hazard score, insurance premium, mitigation condition, operating expenses, vacancy, lease terms, or closed-sale comparables are published. Those gaps prevent underwriting net yield, insurability, neighborhood demand, and exit value; verify them alongside title, tax assessment, and unit-specific rent before relying on the county thesis.