DeKalb County

DeKalb County sits at a median home price of $242,473, up 4.45% year-over-year, with an affordability index of 78, which places it comfortably within reach for most investors working with conventional financing at the current 6.85% rate. The problem is that the dataset returns zeros across every income metric: cap rate, cash-on-cash return, estimated cash flow, and monthly mortgage are all unpopulated. That means this analysis cannot confirm a cash-flow story from the numbers provided. What the data does confirm is a meaningful appreciation signal, with an appreciation score of 84 out of 100 and a top-15% national ranking (86th percentile across 1,000 counties). This is a market where the investment thesis lives or dies on price growth, not monthly spread.

That appreciation score of 84 places DeKalb firmly in the buy-and-hold appreciation category, not the cash-flow column. The cash-flow score is listed at 0, which may reflect data limitations rather than a definitively negative spread, but no investor should pencil this market expecting near-term income to carry the deal. The right buyer here is someone with enough equity or down payment to survive a thin or break-even monthly position while waiting for continued price appreciation, or someone doing a value-add repositioning play where forced equity substitutes for market income. With a population of only 11,838, the tenant pool is narrow, which compounds the cash-flow risk: vacancy events hit harder when there are fewer prospective renters. An appreciation-oriented buyer who can hold for five or more years and stomach a thin carry may find the 4.45% YoY price growth meaningful over a longer horizon, but this is not a market suited to a landlord who needs the property to pay for itself from day one.

The tax and insurance picture is a modest tailwind. Missouri's state-average effective property tax rate of 0.97% is flagged as "normal," and the combined annual tax and insurance load on a $242,473 property works out to roughly $285 per month ($2,352 in taxes, $1,067 in insurance annually). That is a manageable carry cost relative to comparable markets in higher-tax states, and it should not meaningfully distort an underwrite. That said, the 0.97% figure is a state-average estimate based on Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual DeKalb County or township rates may differ, so confirm the local assessor rate before closing your pro forma.

The most concrete risk here is market size. At under 12,000 residents, DeKalb County has one of the thinner population bases an investor would typically consider for a buy-and-hold strategy. Thin markets can produce illiquidity on the exit, concentrated tenant-pool risk, and limited comparables for appraisal support when refinancing. The stability score of 50 out of 100 reflects this structural fragility. Without economic anchor data in the dataset, there is no named employer or institutional driver to explain what is sustaining the 4.45% appreciation rate or what underpins rental demand. That absence is itself a flag: before committing capital, an investor should independently identify what is driving price growth and whether those drivers are durable.

Comparing DeKalb to the five neighboring counties in the dataset clarifies where it fits in the regional picture. Andrew County ($281,483, score 73) and Clinton County ($275,256, score 70) both carry higher prices with comparable or lower overall scores, making them harder entries for the same appreciation-oriented thesis. Pettis County ($191,272, score 73) and Butler County ($160,556, score 70) both offer rent-to-price ratios around 0.67%, which at least establishes a cash-flow signal, though both score lower overall than DeKalb. Saint Louis City is the outlier: at a rent-to-price ratio of 0.088% and a median home price of $175,441, it offers the strongest monthly yield in this comparison set, and an investor who prioritizes cash flow over appreciation should be looking there rather than DeKalb. Choose DeKalb over its neighbors only if you have conviction in continued rural Missouri appreciation, are comfortable with the illiquidity of a sub-12,000-person market, and do not need the property to generate meaningful monthly income while you hold it.