Teller County

Teller County's gross rent multiplier sits at roughly 19.4x (median home price of $484,510 against annual rent of $25,039), and the cap rate on a standard underwrite comes in at 3.36%. At a 6.85% interest rate with 20% down, the monthly mortgage alone is $2,540, expenses add another $730, and estimated rent of $2,087 leaves a cash-on-cash return of negative 12.74% and a monthly cash flow shortfall of $1,183. The rent-to-price ratio of 0.0517% is marginally better than several neighbors, but it does not come close to bridging the gap between rent and debt service at current financing costs. Home prices declined 2.1% year-over-year, so the appreciation story is not compensating for the carry loss either. With an overall score of 43 out of 100, a national percentile rank of 8, and a state rank of 33 out of 62 Colorado counties, Teller lands in the bottom tier by most investor metrics.

These numbers do not favor the cash-flow buyer under conventional financing. A negative $1,183 per month means a leveraged buyer needs meaningful rent growth, a meaningful price recovery, or both, just to break even. An all-cash buyer changes the calculus somewhat since the cap rate of 3.36% at least represents a positive yield, but 3.36% is thin compared to risk-free alternatives and leaves almost no margin for vacancy, capital expenditures, or management overhead. The stability score of 50 and cash-flow score of 48 suggest the market is mediocre rather than catastrophic on those dimensions, but nothing in the data points to a catalyst that would move those numbers materially in the near term. If there is a buyer who fits, it is someone already planning to use the property personally part of the time, treating rental income as an offset rather than a primary return driver, or a value-add operator who can buy significantly below the $484,510 median and force appreciation through renovation before financing costs compound the loss.

No economic anchors or employer data were provided for Teller County, so it is not possible to assess the depth or stability of local rental demand from this dataset. What the population figure of 24,758 does convey is that this is a small, thinly traded market. Thin markets can mean lower vacancy in good times because rental supply is constrained, but they also mean slower absorption when a unit does sit empty, fewer comparable transactions to support appraisals, and limited exit liquidity when the time comes to sell.

On carry costs, Teller actually catches a modest tailwind from property taxes. Colorado's state-average effective rate of 0.51% is low by national standards, and on a $484,510 purchase that translates to roughly $2,471 annually in estimated taxes. Combined with estimated insurance of $1,599 per year, the combined monthly tax-and-insurance burden is approximately $339. That is a real number, but it is not the problem here; the problem is the mortgage, not the tax line. The low property tax flag is a minor positive worth noting in your underwrite, though the caveat applies: this is a state-average estimate, and actual Teller County or township rates may differ from the state figure.

The most specific risk this data surfaces is market thinness. A population of 24,758 means the entire county's rental pool is narrow. Concentration risk is real: one major employer reducing headcount, one road closure affecting commute patterns, or one seasonal demand shift could move vacancy materially with no offsetting demand from other industries. The affordability index of 31 out of 100 also deserves attention on the tenant side. If tenants cannot easily afford homes in this market, that can support rental demand, but an affordability index that low also suggests that rent growth may be capped by what the local workforce can actually pay, particularly in a county this size.

Against its neighbors, Teller's rent-to-price ratio of 0.0517 is actually the highest in the comparison set. Adams County runs 0.0477, Clear Creek 0.0482, El Paso 0.0459, and Broomfield a weak 0.0398. On that single metric, Teller is the best relative value among these five counties. However, all five carry the same or nearly the same overall score (42 to 44 range), meaning the broader investment picture is equally uninspiring across the board. El Paso County is the most compelling counter-argument: its median home price of $446,354 is roughly $38,000 lower than Teller's, which directly reduces the debt service burden and down payment requirement, and Colorado Springs provides an employment base and population density that Teller simply cannot match. For a buy-and-hold investor choosing between these markets under conventional financing, El Paso's lower entry point and larger tenant pool likely outweigh Teller's slightly better rent-to-price ratio. Choose Teller only if you have a specific property below the median that pencils on its own merits, or if your use case involves partial personal occupancy that changes the return calculation entirely.