Wicomico County has income-versus-exit-pricing tension. Zillow puts median home value at $278,478, up 2.17%, while FHFA’s separate annual repeat-transaction HPI rose 5.7%. Both point upward, but FHFA is an index, not a dollar value, and their vintages and methods cannot be blended. Investors testing rental income may investigate; buyers dependent on quick resale should be cautious. Realtor.com’s MLS listing evidence has median listing prices down, more active listings, and 62 median days on market. These are asking-price, visible-supply, and marketing-time measures—not closed sales or proof of demand—and support deal-level negotiation, not a countywide price conclusion.
Measured median asking rent is $1,630 monthly and supports the 7.02% gross yield before expenses against the Zillow value. HUD’s $1,378 two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard, not an asking-rent estimate; market rent is a calculated 18.3% higher, which does not validate collections or affordability. The effective property-tax rate is 0.85%, requiring carrying-cost review. Insurance, vacancy, operating expenses, financing, and assessed value are not published; without them, net yield, debt service, and cash flow cannot be computed.
QCEW workplace evidence—not resident employment or a forecast—shows covered employment increased and covered-worker average weekly wage rose 3.95%. Education and health services is the largest disclosed private supersector, at 28.34% of private covered jobs; it is not the whole economy. Reported tax-return migration was negative 142 households, and incoming mover AGI was below outgoing mover AGI. Investor participation was 83 of 1,067 purchases, or 7.78%; this identifies some non-owner competition but not cash buyers or rental demand. These indicators require tenant, buyer, and submarket checks, not an aggregate-demand inference.
Hurricane is the dominant hazard, and modeled expected annual building-value loss is about 0.1%. This is a modeled ratio, not an insurance quote or dollar loss. Flood zone, elevation, replacement cost, deductibles, and policy availability are absent, preventing hazard-adjusted underwriting. Missing closed-sale prices, lease concessions, vacancy, rent collections, and property-level tax assessments prevent validation of resale liquidity, stabilized income, and net returns. Next checks: parcel insurance and flood records, executed leases and expenses, and comparable closed sales or pending contracts.