Pasquotank County

Pasquotank County's gross rent-to-price ratio sits at 6.6%, which places it in the middle of the cash-flow spectrum: better than many appreciation-driven coastal markets but not the 8%-plus territory where deals tend to pencil easily at today's rates. The cap rate clocks in at 4.3%, which is respectable for a smaller North Carolina county but falls short of covering the cost of debt at 6.85%. Run the numbers at the standard 20% down ($52,841) and the model spits out a monthly mortgage of $1,385 against an estimated rent of $1,457, leaving $72 of gross spread before expenses. Add $510 in estimated monthly operating costs and the cash-on-cash lands at negative 8.65%, with modeled cash flow at negative $438 per month. Year-over-year home price appreciation came in at just 1.14%, so there is no near-term appreciation story powerful enough to subsidize that carry gap. The affordability index of 73 is a relative bright spot, suggesting the purchase price of roughly $264,000 is within reach of a meaningful renter pool, but affordability alone does not fix the debt service math.

This market as currently priced is not a fit for a vanilla buy-and-hold cash-flow buyer using standard leverage. At 6.85% financing, Pasquotank only makes sense in two narrower scenarios: a buyer with enough equity to reduce the loan balance materially, or a value-add operator who can push rents above the $1,457 median through renovation or repositioning. The affordability index of 73 and median price of $264,000 suggest there is room to find below-median assets that could be forced into better numbers. An all-cash buyer sees a 4.3% cap, which in a small northeastern North Carolina market with limited institutional competition is at least a defensible return compared to alternatives with more price risk. The appreciation score of 61 and 1.14% YoY growth signal that patience here is not well compensated, so investors counting on exit appreciation to bail out a thin yield should look elsewhere.

Pasquotank County's seat is Elizabeth City, a small coastal plains city anchored by U.S. Coast Guard Station Elizabeth City, one of the largest Coast Guard facilities in the country. That presence creates a steady base of government-employed renters with predictable income and relatively short assignment cycles, both of which support rental demand. Military and federal installations tend to provide demand floors that private-sector-only markets lack, and in a county of 40,454 people that anchor matters. The economy note flags this directly: the Coast Guard presence helps explain why rental demand holds even in a smaller, geographically isolated market that might otherwise struggle to attract tenants.

The combined monthly tax and insurance burden on a median-priced purchase runs $247, using the state-average effective property tax rate of 0.84% and an insurance rate of 0.28%. That tax rate is in normal territory, neither a tailwind nor a red flag, and it is already baked into the $510 estimated expense figure. Worth noting: the 0.84% figure is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024 data, and actual Pasquotank County or municipal rates may differ, so pull the county assessor's numbers before finalizing your underwrite. Insurance at 0.28% is modest for a coastal-adjacent North Carolina location, though proximity to the Albemarle Sound means individual property-level quotes could come in higher depending on flood zone designation and wind exposure.

The core risk here is geographic isolation and market depth. A county of 40,000 anchored heavily on a single federal employer means any reduction in Coast Guard presence, budget sequestration, or base realignment would hit the rental market without the demand diversification that a larger metro provides. Exit liquidity is thinner than in a Charlotte suburb or a Raleigh satellite, so underwrite your hold period and exit cap rate conservatively. Stability scores at 50, the lowest of the five categories, reflect this concentration and small-market exposure.

Compared to the neighboring counties in the data, Pasquotank sits at a mid-range price point but gives up yield to Cumberland County (rent-to-price of 7.5% vs. Pasquotank's 6.6%) and Cherokee County (7.1%). Cumberland, at a median price of $227,591 and overall score of 61, is only one point behind Pasquotank but offers a meaningfully better gross yield and the scale of the Fayetteville metro with Fort Liberty underpinning demand. Cherokee at 7.1% rent-to-price beats Pasquotank on yield as well. Davidson County matches Pasquotank almost exactly on price ($264,061 vs. $264,204) but scores higher overall at 65 and offers a slightly lower rent-to-price (6.57%), suggesting the score advantage comes from stability or economic diversity rather than yield. Gaston County costs more at $291,814 and comes in at 6.8% rent-to-price with a lower overall score of 60. The case for choosing Pasquotank over these neighbors is narrow: an investor who specifically wants military-rental exposure, has local market knowledge in Elizabeth City, or has identified a specific below-market asset would have a reason to be here. For a purely quantitative allocation decision, Cumberland's better yield-to-price profile at a lower entry point is the harder argument to beat.