Hancock County

Hancock County sits at a median home price of $187,746, up 3.89% year-over-year, with an affordability index of 90, meaning buyers here face meaningfully less price pressure than the national baseline. The market scores 83 on appreciation and lands in the 93rd percentile nationally out of 1,000 counties ranked, which is a genuinely strong positioning for a county of roughly 10,800 people. The cash flow score, however, comes in at zero, and the cap rate and cash-on-cash fields carry no positive value in the dataset. That gap between the appreciation signal and the cash flow signal tells you most of what you need to know: Hancock is not generating measurable spread at current prices and a 6.85% interest rate. The price-to-rent dynamics here favor holding for value growth rather than clipping a monthly coupon.

That profile narrows the buyer fit considerably. An appreciation-focused investor who can absorb neutral or slightly negative cash flow in exchange for a low entry price and above-average price growth trajectory is the cleaner fit. At $187,746 median, the equity basis is low enough that even modest appreciation compounds meaningfully, and the 3.89% YoY price gain demonstrates the market has been moving. A pure cash-flow buyer grinding for monthly income at a 6.85% carry rate should look elsewhere; the numbers do not support that thesis here. A value-add operator might find opportunity if they can identify assets priced below median and force equity through renovation, but the small population base of 10,790 limits exit liquidity and tenant pool depth, which adds execution risk to that strategy.

The tax and insurance picture deserves direct attention in your underwrite. Iowa's state-average effective property tax rate is 1.53%, which the data flags as high, and that deserves its own line on your proforma. On a $187,746 purchase, that rate produces $2,873 in annual property taxes. Add $638 in estimated annual insurance at a 0.34% rate, and you're looking at $293 per month in combined tax and insurance carry before you account for mortgage, maintenance, or vacancy. At a 6.85% interest rate on an 80% LTV loan, that $293 monthly figure is a material drag on any cash flow thesis. Be aware that 1.53% is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual county or township assessments in Hancock may differ, so pull the local mill rate before finalizing numbers.

No economic anchor or employer data was provided for Hancock County, so the demand-side labor story cannot be assessed from this dataset alone. A county of 10,790 people in rural Iowa warrants independent due diligence on the local employment base before committing capital, particularly because small-population markets are more exposed to single-employer concentration risk and demographic outmigration. The stability score of 50 reflects that uncertainty and is worth weighting seriously.

Comparing Hancock to its neighbors clarifies the tradeoffs. Audubon and Crawford counties both share a 75 overall score while sitting at $149,990 and $174,920 respectively, offering lower entry prices if cost basis is the primary variable you're optimizing. O'Brien County is nearly on par at $180,344 and the same overall score. Boone County comes in at $230,323 and Benton County at $261,616, both carrying higher price exposure. Hancock's advantage over Audubon and Crawford is its stronger appreciation score, 83, paired with an entry price that remains well below Boone and Benton. If you are explicitly buying for price growth and want the best appreciation score in the peer group at the lowest possible price point above the cheapest alternatives, Hancock is the selection. If cash flow is the constraint, none of these neighbors solve the problem given the rate environment, but the lower-priced counties offer marginally more room to make the numbers work through negotiation or off-market sourcing.