Chase County

Chase County sits at a median home price of $225,715 with 7.4% year-over-year price appreciation, landing it in the 96th percentile nationally out of 1,000 counties ranked. The appreciation score is 93 out of 100. The cash-flow score, however, is zero, and the cap rate and cash-on-cash return fields come back empty, which tells you exactly where this market sits on the spectrum: this is an appreciation play, not a yield story. The affordability index of 82 suggests prices remain accessible relative to incomes, and the 7.4% price growth means buyers who got in a year ago have already seen meaningful equity movement. But without cash flow clearing the mortgage and carry costs, anyone expecting a check at the end of each month needs to look elsewhere or bring a significantly larger down payment than the modeled 20% ($45,143).

The investor this market suits is someone accumulating equity at a low entry price, comfortable carrying a property at breakeven or slight negative in exchange for appreciation. At $225,715 with 7.4% annual price growth, you're looking at roughly $16,700 in paper equity per year if that trend holds, which is the actual return thesis here. A cash-flow buyer targeting 6-8% cap rates will not find what they need in Chase at this price-to-income configuration. A value-add operator could potentially force equity through renovation, since the affordability index of 82 suggests there's room in the market for upgraded product, but the thin population base of 3,704 people creates real demand constraints on how quickly you can stabilize a repositioned unit.

The tax and insurance picture materially affects the carry calculation. Nebraska's state-average effective property tax rate is 1.73%, which the Tax Foundation flags as high, and that is not a rounding-error item on your underwrite. On a $225,715 purchase, that rate produces $3,905 in annual property taxes. Add $1,309 in annual insurance and you're at $435 per month in tax and insurance before you touch principal, interest, vacancy, maintenance, or management. Against a mortgage payment at 6.85% on an 80% LTV loan, that $435 carries real weight. Be aware that the 1.73% is a state-average estimate; actual Chase County and township rates may differ, so pull the county assessor's data before finalizing any underwrite. Nebraska's tax burden is a known headwind across the state and Chase is unlikely to be an exception.

Population at 3,704 is the central risk here and it deserves direct attention. A rental property in a county this small is exposed to idiosyncratic vacancy risk that diversified markets don't carry. One large employer reducing headcount, one school consolidation, one infrastructure project ending can move the local rental market measurably. There is no economic anchors data provided for Chase, so the specific drivers of rental demand cannot be assessed from the available information, which itself is a flag worth sitting with before deploying capital. The stability score of 50 out of 100 reflects this fragility. High appreciation scores in small rural counties can be driven by thin transaction volume amplifying price swings rather than sustained demand, and a 96th percentile national ranking built on a small sample of sales deserves skepticism.

Compared to its neighbors, Chase County scores an overall 77 against Colfax (76), Garfield (75), Wayne (75), Cheyenne (75), and Merrick (75), so it leads the peer group by a narrow margin. The more interesting comparison is on price. Cheyenne County comes in at $163,907 median, roughly $62,000 below Chase, while scoring only two points lower overall at 75. If cash flow is what you're chasing, Cheyenne's lower price point almost certainly produces better cap rate math even before adjusting for any rent differential, and the lower basis means tax and insurance carry is lighter. Chase makes more sense than Cheyenne only if you specifically want to bet on continued price appreciation above the peer average, and the 7.4% YoY growth rate is the main evidence supporting that bet. Wayne County at $240,704 and an overall score of 75 prices above Chase for less score, making Chase the better relative value among appreciation-focused options in this Nebraska peer set.