Yates County

Yates County sits at a median home price of $327,438, up 3.56% year over year, in a part of New York where that appreciation trajectory is the real story. The cash flow score is zero, which is not a rounding artifact, it reflects a price-to-rent relationship that simply does not pencil for buy-and-hold income investors running conventional financing at 6.85%. No cap rate or estimated cash flow is available in the data, but the zero cash flow score tells you everything about where this market sits on the spectrum: firmly on the appreciation side, with little to no current income return built into the entry price. The affordability index of 60 and an affordability score of 60 out of 100 confirm that pricing has moved ahead of local income levels, which is typical of markets where demand is being driven by something other than local employment alone.

This market is not for the cash flow buyer. If your underwriting model requires a positive monthly spread from day one, Yates County at $327,438 median with a 6.85% rate will not deliver it, and the data confirms that outright. Where it may make sense is for the appreciation-oriented buyer who can absorb negative or flat carry in exchange for a market scoring 82 out of 100 on appreciation, placing it in a strong position nationally (70th percentile, ranked 233rd out of 1,000 counties) and a respectable 21st out of 62 New York counties overall. An investor with low leverage or an all-cash position looking to park capital in a market with a demonstrated upward price trend and an 82 appreciation score has a clearer rationale here than an income-focused buyer does. Value-add operators should be cautious: thin rent-to-price dynamics mean that even a renovated unit at a higher rent may not move the needle enough to justify the strategy.

The economic context matters here in ways the data does not fully spell out, but the county's relatively small population of 24,713 and its Finger Lakes positioning suggest that tourism and seasonal demand likely play a role in the rental market, though without named economic anchors in the provided data, that inference should be confirmed separately before underwriting. What the data does support is that the stability score of 50 out of 100 is worth flagging: at the midpoint, it signals neither a particularly dependable rent base nor severe instability, but it warrants scrutiny in a small-population county where a single employer change or seasonal demand shift can move the needle meaningfully.

The carry cost picture in Yates is a real underwriting consideration. At a state-average effective property tax rate of 1.72%, New York's rate is high enough to deserve its own line on your underwrite, and the data is explicit that this is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024, with actual county and township rates potentially differing. On a $327,438 purchase, that works out to $5,632 annually in property tax and $786 in estimated insurance, combining to $535 per month before you account for mortgage, maintenance, or vacancy. That $535 figure is a floor on your fixed monthly carry, and in a market where cash flow already scores zero, it leaves essentially no margin for error on the income side. Any investor running this market seriously needs to source the actual Yates County mill rate before closing, not rely on the state average.

The concentration risk in a county of under 25,000 people is real. Thin population means thin tenant pools, and while the data does not provide vacancy statistics, small-market dynamics typically mean longer re-leasing timelines and higher exposure to individual tenant performance. Regulatory risk in New York State is always a backdrop consideration given the state's history of tenant-protection legislation, though the data does not provide county-specific ordinance detail.

Compared to the neighboring counties in the data, Yates is clearly the outlier on price. Monroe County at $269,412 median and a rent-to-price ratio of 0.0668 offers a materially better income profile, and its overall score of 67 nearly matches Yates's 66. Cayuga County at $220,162 median and a 0.0665 rent-to-price ratio, and Wayne County at $236,511 with a 0.0611 ratio, both offer lower entry points with comparable or better income dynamics. Madison County at $246,228 and an overall score of 68 edges out Yates on the composite while coming in roughly $80,000 cheaper on median price. Putnam County at $541,229 is the only neighbor priced above Yates, with a 0.0624 rent-to-price ratio that still outperforms what Yates implies. The case for choosing Yates over its neighbors comes down to one thing: if the 82 appreciation score reflects a genuine structural dynamic in this specific submarket, and you have the hold period and liquidity to let it play out, Yates may deliver superior total return. But on income metrics alone, Monroe, Cayuga, or Madison County each present a stronger starting position.