Cadillac, MI

Cadillac, MI is assessed here as the supplied metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area, with a reported population of 49,284. The decision frame is deliberately evidence-led rather than rank-led: it is unranked because Zillow does not publish enough history to calculate a trailing-12-month rent change. That change is unavailable, so this report assigns neither a score nor a market rank. The absence of that specific series does not erase the other readings, but it limits what can be said about rental momentum. Zillow observations run through 2026-06-30; BLS labor evidence runs through 2026-05; Census Building Permits runs through 2026 YTD M06; and Redfin's for-sale snapshot is dated 2026-05-01. These nonidentical windows matter because the report compares indicators with distinct timing, coverage, and questions rather than treating them as a single market verdict.

Zillow provides the current rent-and-value economics, but not the missing rent trend. At 2026-06-30, Zillow's asking-rent index is $1,013 and its home-value index is $236,407. The reported home-value year-over-year change is 5.51%, while the stated gross yield is 5.14%. Those figures establish a current relationship among Zillow's asking-rent and home-value indexes: a value increase is present alongside a current rent level and stated yield. They do not establish that rents rose at the same time, because the trailing-12-month Zillow rent change is unavailable. Nor does an asking-rent index demonstrate executed lease rents or vacancy. The useful tension is therefore between measurable value appreciation and unmeasurable recent rent momentum, not evidence of a confirmed change in the rent-to-value relationship.

Census ACS and HUD establish an affordability boundary rather than a renter-level outcome. Census ACS reports median household income of $62,015, with the supplied rent-to-income measure at 19.59% and price-to-income measure at 3.81. HUD's FY2026 two-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,028.50. Zillow's $1,013 asking-rent index is $15.50 below that HUD benchmark, or 98.4% of it. This is close alignment between two supplied rent reference points, but they are different measures: Zillow supplies an asking-rent index, while HUD supplies a two-bedroom Fair Market Rent. The Census ACS income figure is also a household-income measure, not a record of what any renter pays. Together, these data describe market-level reference points and ratios; they do not demonstrate affordability for a particular household or lease.

The BLS, Census Building Permits Survey, and Redfin readings present a supply-and-market-activity tension rather than a uniform signal. BLS LAUS reports metro labor change of -3.15% over the 12 months through 2026-05. Census Building Permits reports 180 permitted housing units through 2026 YTD M06, equal to 3.65 permits per 1,000 residents; 100 permits are in the supplied 5-plus category, representing 55.6% of the total. This is permitted supply evidence, with no completion series in the packet. Redfin's 2026-05-01 snapshot shows 3.5 months of supply versus 2.7 previously, a 0.8-month increase. Yet median days on market fell to 35 from 52, the sale-to-list ratio is 97.75%, and price reductions fell to 21.08% from 28.02%. Inventory expanded while market time and the incidence of price reductions moved the other way. The labor contraction, permitted supply, and resale indicators therefore cannot be compressed into a single demand or supply conclusion.

IRS migration and HMDA investor participation add detail, but their scope is narrower than a total demand estimate. IRS county-to-county tax-return migration aggregated to the market reports 1,148 moved in and 1,078 moved out, for net migration of 70. Inbound adjusted gross income is $54,373 versus $49,315 outbound, a supplied gap of $5,058. This is evidence about tax-return migration and income among those flows, not a direct count of current renters, leases, or occupied units. HMDA reports 448 purchase mortgages in 2024, including 15 investor purchases, for a reported investor share of 3.35%. HMDA is purchase-mortgage occupancy evidence rather than a census of all ownership. The positive IRS net movement, negative BLS labor change, and limited HMDA investor share describe different populations and periods. They cannot establish a single measure of renter demand, owner demand, or investor participation without additional matching evidence.

FEMA's National Risk Index supplies a separate risk lens. The reported top hazard is inland flood, classified as water, with an NRI risk score of 26.9 and a climate loss ratio of 0.00077. These are expected annual loss indicators, not a documented insurance, repair, mitigation, or transaction-cost schedule. The available cost-level reference points in this packet are Zillow's asking rent and home-value indexes, HUD's Fair Market Rent, and Census ACS household income. None converts FEMA's risk evidence into a marketwide operating-cost figure. It follows that the stated Zillow gross yield is not a FEMA-adjusted return measure, and the near match between Zillow rent and HUD Fair Market Rent is not a flood-cost measure. FEMA identifies a risk category that remains analytically separate from the rent, value, and income readings presented here.

The practical due-diligence synthesis is a set of unresolved market-level questions, not a rank or forecast. The first is whether Zillow eventually publishes sufficient rent history to measure the missing trailing-12-month change and permit a score. The next is whether Zillow's asking-rent index, HUD's two-bedroom benchmark, and any available lease evidence use sufficiently comparable dates and definitions for the observed $15.50 difference to be decision-relevant. Census Building Permits invites examination of permitted supply by status and timing, while Redfin's higher months of supply alongside shorter market time calls for separation of listing stock from transaction pacing. BLS labor change, IRS tax-return migration, and HMDA purchase-mortgage occupancy evidence also need to remain distinct rather than being treated as interchangeable demand measures. Finally, FEMA's inland-flood evidence leaves an open market-level cost question because no related cost series appears in the packet. The present evidence supports these testable tensions, but not a score, rank, or conclusion about future rental performance.