Wayne County

Wayne County sits at a 6.23% gross rent-to-price ratio, which places it in the middle ground between pure cash-flow market and pure appreciation play. At a median home price of $173,653 and median rent of $901, the raw yield looks attractive on paper, but the modeled underwrite tells a more complicated story: at 6.85% financing, the all-in monthly mortgage of $910 already exceeds gross rent before a single expense hits the ledger. Add $315 in estimated monthly expenses and the model spits out negative $324/month in cash flow and a cash-on-cash return of -9.73%. The cap rate of 4.05% is the more honest number to anchor to, and it tells you this market requires either significant equity compression, below-market acquisition, or value-add execution to pencil on a leveraged basis. The appreciation score of 90 out of 100 and a 6.48% year-over-year home price gain suggest the market has real price momentum, which partially explains why yields haven't compressed further: prices are moving faster than rents can keep up.

The investor this market suits best is someone running one of two playbooks. First, the appreciation buyer who is comfortable with mild negative carry in the near term and is betting that 6.48% annual price growth continues to build equity faster than the monthly drag erodes returns. With a median price of $173,653 and an affordability index of 93, entry points remain accessible relative to income, which historically sustains appreciation longer than markets where buyers are already stretched. Second, the value-add operator who can acquire below the $173,653 median, force appreciation through renovation, and refi into a better basis once rents and equity support it. The cash-flow score of 62 out of 100 reflects that market-rate acquisitions don't produce positive leverage at current rates, but off-market deals bought at a 15-20% discount to median could shift that materially. A pure cash-flow buyer who needs day-one positive returns from a conventional financed deal should look elsewhere in this data set.

The stability score of 50 out of 100 is the number that deserves the most attention in an underwrite. It sits exactly at the midpoint, signaling neither a tight, low-vacancy rental market nor a deteriorating one. A population of 66,522 is small enough that a single large employer contraction can move vacancy meaningfully. No economic anchor data was provided for Wayne County, so no specific employer analysis can be made here, but the population size alone is a flag worth pricing into your assumptions on vacancy and re-tenanting time when stress-testing the model.

On carry costs, the combined monthly tax and insurance burden of $164 is already baked into the $315 estimated expenses figure. Indiana's state-average effective property tax rate is 0.85%, which is flagged as normal, and at that level it doesn't represent an outsized drag the way a 1.5%+ rate would. That said, the note accompanying this data is worth keeping in mind: the 0.85% is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual county and township rates in Wayne can differ. Pull the county assessor's current levy before finalizing any underwrite. The insurance rate of 0.28% produces $486 annually, which is reasonable and not a meaningful source of underwriting risk on its own.

Comparing Wayne to its neighbors sharpens the value proposition. Howard County is the most direct apples-to-apples comparison: median price of $185,850 versus Wayne's $173,653, but Howard's rent of $1,005 against Wayne's $901 gives Howard a 6.49% gross yield versus Wayne's 6.23%. Both counties score identically at 72 overall, but Howard's rent-to-price ratio is marginally better, making it the sharper cash-flow option of the two if you're running close comparisons. Lagrange County at $322,425 and Whitley County at $272,520 are both significantly more expensive with the same 72 overall score, meaning you're paying a large price premium for equivalent overall quality. Orange County at $182,101 scores 73 overall, edging Wayne slightly, and at a close price point it warrants a direct rent comparison before choosing between them. Jefferson County at $231,468 scores 71, trails Wayne, and costs more. The case for choosing Wayne over most of these neighbors comes down to entry price: at $173,653, Wayne is the cheapest median in this peer group, and if the appreciation trajectory holds, the equity upside on a lower basis compounds faster. Choose Wayne if your thesis is price entry and appreciation; choose Howard if you need the extra rent yield to get closer to breakeven on leverage.