Yolo County, CA

Yolo County is a cautious income-underwriting screen rather than a price-recovery story. Zillow’s county observation labeled 2026-06 puts median home value at $624,608, down 1.52% year over year, while median asking rent was $2,506, up 0.91%, and published gross yield was 4.81%. Cash-flow-oriented buyers should investigate unit-level expenses and flood exposure; buyers relying on appreciation or a quick exit should be cautious.

That yield uses measured market asking rent and annual rent before costs; it is not supported by HUD Fair Market Rent. The two-bedroom HUD FMR is $2,104, a payment standard rather than an estimate of asking rent. An effective property-tax rate of 0.77% makes carrying-cost verification material. The Zillow rent measure is asking-rent evidence, not a lease-renewal or collections measure, so it does not establish net income. Property-specific insurance, maintenance, and vacancy data are needed to test whether gross yield survives operating costs.

Realtor.com’s MLS listing-market evidence, also labeled 2026-06, shows median listing price down 4.05% year over year and active listings down 17.7%. Marketing time shortened, while 16.1% of listings had price reductions. These are asking-price, visible-supply, marketing-time, and seller-concession indicators—not closed-sale prices or proof of buyer demand. Tax-return migration shows a net outflow and higher average income among departing than arriving movers, warranting scrutiny of renter depth and exit-buyer composition. Investors accounted for 10.5% of purchase mortgages, indicating participation but not their pricing power, property type, or resale behavior.

FHFA’s separately labeled 2025 annual repeat-transaction HPI declined year over year, yet its multiyear cumulative change was positive; it is an appreciation index, not a dollar home value, and must not be combined with Zillow’s 2026-06 change. QCEW’s 2025 county workplace series reports declining annual covered employment and rising average weekly covered-worker wages; Trade, transportation, and utilities is the largest disclosed private supersector, not the whole economy. Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and the modeled annual building-value loss ratio warrants parcel-level insurance, elevation, and repair-history review. Missing closed-sale comps, debt terms, vacancy, operating costs, and submarket lease data prevent a net-yield, debt-coverage, or resale-liquidity conclusion.