Wayne County presents a price-momentum-versus-underwriting-evidence tension: buyers needing cash-flow validation should investigate, while those relying on stable local employment or accepting unpriced flood exposure should be cautious. Zillow’s June 2026 county median home value was $147,926, up 8.68% year over year. Separately, the 2025 FHFA repeat-transaction HPI rose 7.82% annually. The measures support similar directional price evidence, but they use different methods and vintages; HPI is not a home value and should not be blended with Zillow into a growth rate.
No county market asking rent is published, so gross yield cannot be calculated. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR of $919 per month is a payment standard, not market rent, and cannot substitute for it. The reported effective property-tax rate is 1.36%, and median annual tax is $1,509. Those are county benchmarks rather than a parcel bill, but they require property-specific tax, insurance, maintenance and financing checks before carrying costs can be underwritten.
Local demand indicators do not resolve that gap. Annual QCEW covered employment at county workplaces was 2,023 and declined 3.62%; it is neither resident employment nor an unemployment measure. Manufacturing, the largest disclosed private supersector, accounted for 45.06% of private covered jobs, concentrating exposure in one disclosed sector. Net tax-return migration was five households, while incoming movers’ average income exceeded outgoing movers’ by $11,285; this is a small net flow, not proof of broad housing demand. Investor purchase mortgages were 5% of 40 total purchases, documenting an observed non-owner share rather than the full buyer pool.
Inland flood is the named dominant hazard, while the modeled annual climate-loss ratio is 0.13% of building value; neither figure identifies a parcel’s flood zone, prior claims, deductible or insurance availability. MLS listing price, active listings, days on market and price-reduction share are not published, preventing an assessment of visible supply, seller concessions or listing-market liquidity. Next checks are market-rent leases, property-level taxes and insurance, flood maps and claims history, and MLS or closed-sale evidence; without them, cash flow, resale execution and hazard-adjusted costs remain untested.