Iberville Parish

Iberville Parish sits at a gross rent-to-price ratio of 13.35%, which places it firmly in cash-flow territory. At a median home price of $175,217 and median rent of $1,950, the implied cap rate on a modeled purchase comes in at 8.68%, with a cash-on-cash return of 10.39% using 20% down at 6.85%. Monthly cash flow after mortgage ($919) and estimated expenses ($683) is modeled at $349, against a $35,043 equity outlay. Those are the numbers that put Iberville at the 99th national percentile and first in Louisiana among 64 parishes scored. Appreciation is not absent, with home prices up 2.73% year-over-year, but at those levels it's a secondary story. This market scores 100 on cash flow and 77 on appreciation, which tells you where the return is being generated.

For a cash-flow buyer, Iberville is difficult to argue against on the raw numbers. A gross yield above 13% at median price points is rare at any scale, let alone in a parish with a median purchase price under $180,000. The $175,217 entry point keeps capital requirements accessible, and the affordability index of 92 suggests renters in this market are not being priced out, which supports rent sustainability. A value-add operator also has a reasonable setup here: low basis, meaningful cash flow from day one, and some price appreciation as a buffer if execution takes longer than planned. What this market does not suit particularly well is a pure appreciation buyer looking for 6-8% annual price growth. The 2.73% YoY gain is real but unspectacular, and the economic profile of a 30,210-person parish is unlikely to generate the demand compression that drives outsized price appreciation.

The tax and insurance picture deserves specific attention because Louisiana insurance costs can quietly erode cash-flow assumptions in markets like this. The state-average effective property tax rate is estimated at 0.55%, flagged as low, which is a genuine tailwind. Annual property taxes on the median asset come to roughly $964. Insurance, however, runs an estimated $1,156 annually, or $96 per month, reflecting Louisiana's elevated coastal and storm-exposure risk. Combined, tax and insurance land at approximately $177 per month. That figure is already embedded in the $683 estimated expense line, but underwriters working this market independently should model insurance closely. Carriers have been exiting Louisiana or repricing aggressively in recent years, and any deterioration from the state-average estimate could compress the modeled $349 monthly cash flow meaningfully. The property tax rate, by contrast, is a tailwind worth holding onto; at 0.55%, it compares favorably to national norms. As always, the rate cited is a state-average estimate and actual Iberville Parish rates may differ.

Stability scores at 50, which is the primary caveat on an otherwise high-scoring market. A parish of 30,210 people has limited economic diversification by definition, and any softness in local employment or population trends can show up in vacancy faster than it would in a metro market. Without employer-specific data provided for Iberville, the concentration risk cannot be quantified precisely, but a single-industry or single-employer dependence is a genuine structural concern at this population level. Investors should independently verify the local employment base and whether renter demand is driven by a transferable pool of workers or by a narrower set of employers whose presence is not guaranteed long-term. Regulatory risk in Louisiana is generally modest for landlords, but flood zone classification and insurance availability are parish-specific considerations that can affect both financing and operating costs.

Compared to the five neighboring parishes in the dataset, Iberville's cash-flow case is not close. Calcasieu Parish, the largest neighbor by context, carries a median price of $193,360 against a median rent of $1,062, producing a rent-to-price ratio of just 6.59%, less than half of Iberville's 13.35%. Iberia Parish posts a stronger yield than Calcasieu at 10.63% on a $134,124 median price, but still falls well short of Iberville and scores 69 overall versus Iberville's 80. Assumption Parish and Caldwell Parish score 74 and 73 respectively with incomplete rent data, and Sabine Parish scores 70. None of the neighbors reaches Iberville's overall score or approaches its cash-on-cash profile at the modeled return levels. The case for choosing a neighbor over Iberville would rest on lower absolute capital requirements (Caldwell at $127,430 median), better appreciation prospects if you believe a specific local thesis, or a more diversified economic base that lifts the stability score above 50. If cash flow per dollar deployed is the primary objective, the data consistently favors Iberville Parish over any of its neighbors in this comparison set.