Woodbury County presents a yield-versus-resilience tension: the measured rent/price relationship merits investigation by investors able to diligence flood exposure and operating costs, while buyers needing stable local household and resale evidence should be cautious. At Zillow’s 2026-06 county observation, the $209,683 median home value and $1,216 monthly median asking rent are paired with the supplied 6.96% gross yield before costs. FHFA’s repeat-transaction HPI rose 3.58% in its 2025 annual reading; it corroborates positive price direction but is an index, not a home value, and its period and method cannot be merged with Zillow into one appreciation rate.
The market-rent measure is distinct from HUD’s $1,154 two-bedroom FMR, which is a payment standard rather than an asking-rent estimate; it should not replace measured rent in yield work. Carrying costs may narrow the headline gross measure: the effective property-tax rate is 1.45%, and median annual property tax is $2,656. Taxes alone do not establish a property’s bill, and insurance, maintenance, vacancy, financing, and utility responsibility are not published, so neither net yield nor cash flow can be calculated.
MLS listing evidence at Realtor.com’s 2026-06 snapshot shows 198 active listings, with supply higher year over year and 17.72% of listings reduced; that visible supply and concessions require offer-level comp review, not a conclusion about closed-sale values or buyer demand. Household movement is a counterweight: out-movers exceeded in-movers by 218 tax-return households, and departing movers’ average income exceeded arriving movers’ by $6,939, both calculations from supplied figures. Investors accounted for 15.56% of 1,157 total purchases, indicating meaningful but not majority non-owner participation; this share does not reveal bid behavior or neighborhood concentration.
Labor and hazard set the limits. QCEW’s 2025 annual workplace series reports covered employment down 0.71%; it is neither resident employment nor an unemployment measure. Inland flood is the dominant hazard, while modeled expected annual building-value loss is 0.14%, a county-level ratio rather than a property loss estimate. Property-level flood zones, insurance quotes and deductibles, closed-sale and lease comps, and neighborhood vacancy are not published; their absence prevents defensible flood-cost, transaction-price, and stabilized-income underwriting.