Beauregard Parish

Beauregard Parish sits at a rent-to-price ratio of 0.67% monthly (6.72% annualized), which places it in the lower tier of cash-flow markets but above the threshold where a deal can pencil under the right conditions. The modeled cap rate of 4.37% reflects a market that leans neither decisively toward income nor appreciation, though given the appreciation score of 13 out of 100 and a year-over-year home price decline of 5.77%, the appreciation case is weak right now. The cash-flow score of 67 is the number doing the most work here, but the standard underwrite at 6.85% financing is still negative: the model shows a monthly cash flow of -$326 and a cash-on-cash return of -8.33% after a $40,826 down payment. That gap is not a fatal flaw, but it tells you financing terms, purchase price, and cost management matter enormously before this market works.

The investor who has the clearest path to profitability here is someone buying below the $204,128 median, either through distressed acquisitions, off-market deals, or value-add plays where forced appreciation through renovation brings rents above the $1,143.75 median. A cash buyer eliminates the mortgage drag entirely and converts the 4.37% cap rate into actual yield rather than a theoretical one. An appreciation buyer has almost no data-backed argument here: a 13 appreciation score, declining prices year-over-year, and a population of just 36,553 do not support a thesis built on price growth. The affordability index of 86 does indicate that the market is accessible relative to incomes, which at minimum limits downside and supports a renter pool that has alternatives to ownership, so demand for rentals is not structurally challenged.

No economic anchors or employer data were provided for Beauregard Parish, so the employment and demand-driver picture cannot be assessed from this data set alone.

On carry costs, the property tax picture is a genuine tailwind. Louisiana's state-average effective rate of 0.55% produces an estimated annual tax bill of $1,123 on a $204,128 asset, and that is flagged as low relative to the national landscape. Insurance, at 0.66% annually, adds $1,347 per year. Together, monthly tax and insurance run approximately $206, which is a meaningful line item but not the drag it would be in high-tax states. To be clear, 0.55% is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual rates at the county or township level in Beauregard Parish may differ, so confirm the parish-specific millage rate before finalizing your underwrite. For Louisiana more broadly, insurance deserves attention given the state's Gulf Coast exposure and the pressure that coastal storm risk has placed on carriers statewide, though Beauregard Parish sits inland in the southwestern part of the state, which may moderate that exposure compared to coastal parishes.

The primary risk in Beauregard Parish is scale and concentration. A population of 36,553 means the rental market is small and thin. Vacancy events hit harder, tenant quality matters more, and exit liquidity is limited, since your buyer pool on the back end is constrained. There is no diversified economic base implied by the data, so any single-employer or single-sector softening could move the needle on rental demand in a market this size. The year-over-year price decline of 5.77% also deserves scrutiny: it could represent a short-term correction or a longer structural trend, and without appreciation momentum, you are not getting bailed out by price gains if the operating performance disappoints.

Compared to the provided neighbors, Beauregard Parish is mid-pack on overall score (53), sitting below De Soto Parish at 56 and tied approximately with Jackson, East Feliciana, and Avoyelles, all at 54. De Soto Parish at a median of $183,440 and an overall score of 56 looks worth underwriting alongside Beauregard, since the lower price point may improve cash-flow math without sacrificing relative market quality. Jackson Parish at $111,674 and Avoyelles at $125,762 offer dramatically lower entry prices, which in a financing-constrained environment could flip the cash-flow math positive faster, though their overall scores of 54 suggest the income picture does not necessarily scale proportionally with the price discount. East Feliciana at $210,695 is priced just above Beauregard with an identical score, offering no obvious reason to choose it over Beauregard on the numbers alone. Choose Beauregard over its neighbors specifically when you have sourced a deal meaningfully below median, when you are operating in cash or near-cash, or when local knowledge gives you an edge on tenant demand or off-market supply that the aggregate data cannot reflect.