Beltrami County

Beltrami County posts a gross rent-to-price ratio of 5.01% and a cap rate of 3.26%, which tells you most of what you need to know before opening a spreadsheet: this market sits firmly on the appreciation side of the spectrum. At a $263,076 median purchase price and $1,099 median monthly rent, the math doesn't close for a cash-flow buyer at current financing rates. Running a 20% down payment ($52,615) against a 6.85% mortgage generates a $1,379 monthly payment, and after estimated expenses of $385, the model spits out negative $665 per month and a cash-on-cash return of -13.19%. That's not a rounding error, it's a structural feature of buying here at today's rates. The one bright spot is price appreciation at 2.74% year-over-year, and the appreciation score of 77 out of 100 reflects that Beltrami is doing real work on the equity-building side even if it's doing almost none on the income side.

The investor profile this market suits is narrow but real: a patient appreciation buyer who can absorb negative carry, or someone with enough equity elsewhere to bring a larger down payment and compress the monthly bleed. A value-add operator could theoretically push rents above the $1,099 median, but even aggressive rent improvement has to overcome a 3.26% cap rate on the asset as purchased, which means you need both a material rent bump and a compression in operating costs to get to breakeven cash flow. Cash-flow investors should look elsewhere without hesitation. The overall score of 60 out of 100 and a cash-flow score of 45 confirm the market doesn't pretend to be something it isn't. The affordability index of 74 is a genuine positive: relative to income, homes are more accessible here than in many Minnesota markets, which supports a buyer pool and limits downside on the equity side.

The combined monthly tax and insurance burden of $325 is worth noting in the underwrite, though it's not alarming. The state-average effective property tax rate is 1.13%, which the Tax Foundation classifies as normal, and that checks out at roughly $248 per month in taxes on the median-priced asset. Insurance adds another $77 per month at the 0.35% rate. Neither figure is a deal-breaker, but keep in mind this is a state-average estimate and actual county and township rates in Beltrami may differ, so pull the county assessor data before finalizing any pro forma. Minnesota as a whole runs higher property taxes than the national median, so "normal" here is still a line item that deserves attention.

Beltrami County's population of 46,274 makes it a small, relatively isolated market in northern Minnesota centered on Bemidji. Small-market dynamics cut both ways: limited institutional competition on acquisitions, but also a thinner renter pool and less liquidity when you go to sell. Concentration risk is real at this scale. A single large employer softening or a demographic shift (the stability score of 50 out of 100 signals some caution here) can move vacancy in ways that don't happen in metro markets. Without specific vacancy data in the underlying figures, it would be irresponsible to characterize that risk precisely, but a 46,000-person county warrants a conservative occupancy assumption in your model.

Against its neighbors, Beltrami is an interesting middle case. Hennepin ($374,793 median, 5.58% rent-to-price) and Washington ($428,544 median, 5.64% rent-to-price) both deliver meaningfully better rent ratios, and Washington actually posts the highest rent-to-price of the group at 5.64%, suggesting those metro-adjacent markets are generating more rental income per dollar of asset value despite far higher entry prices. Stearns County ($306,138 median, 4.92% rent-to-price) undercuts Beltrami slightly on the rent ratio. Rice County ($340,873 median, 4.99% rent-to-price) is nearly identical to Beltrami on rent-to-price but at a 29% higher purchase price. Cottonwood County comes in at $163,785 with no rent data provided, but its dramatically lower entry point makes it worth a separate look for budget-constrained cash-flow seekers. The case for choosing Beltrami over its neighbors is essentially: you believe in northern Minnesota appreciation, you want a lower entry price than the Twin Cities metro, and you're not depending on the property to service its own debt at current rates.