Haywood County

Haywood County sits at a gross rent-to-price ratio of 6.29%, which places it firmly in the cash-flow-oriented tier of the market rather than the appreciation-driven tier. At a median home price of $175,946 and median rent of $921.53, the headline numbers look accessible, but the modeled cash flow tells a harder story: the investment estimate shows negative $324 per month after a $35,189 down payment, a $922 monthly mortgage at 6.85%, and $323 in estimated expenses. That produces a cash-on-cash return of negative 9.61% under current financing, which means the property does not work as a leveraged rental at today's rates without either a below-market acquisition, meaningful rent improvement, or a significant equity contribution. The cap rate of 4.08% is the more useful unlevered number here: it's thin for a small, rural Tennessee market where liquidity is limited and management costs run higher per unit than in denser metros. Year-over-year home price growth of 1.06% is near flat, so the market is not bailing you out on the appreciation side either. Haywood scores 65 overall nationally, landing in the 68th percentile out of 1,000 counties, which is respectable but reflects the tension between its affordability advantage and its cash-flow and stability limitations.

The affordability index of 92, the highest score in the dataset, is Haywood's clearest differentiator. That number is relevant for a value-add operator or a buyer who can pay cash or bring a large down payment to compress the financing drag. At $175,946 median, you are buying at a significant discount to almost every comparable Tennessee county, which creates room to manufacture equity through renovation or repositioning if rents can be pushed above the current $921 median. A cash-flow buyer financing at market rates will struggle here without that angle; the 4.08% cap rate simply does not clear the 6.85% cost of debt. An appreciation buyer has little to work with at 1.06% annual growth. The investor this market suits most is someone willing to deploy more equity upfront, accept a longer hold, and execute operationally rather than rely on the market to carry returns.

The combined monthly tax and insurance burden of $157 is worth noting as a line item: $104 monthly in property taxes (annualized at $1,249, based on a 0.71% state-average effective rate) and $53 monthly in insurance ($633 annually at 0.36%). The property tax flag is "normal," meaning Tennessee's state-average rate does not represent a structural headwind the way it would in, say, Illinois or New Jersey. That said, the note attached to this data is worth taking seriously: the 0.71% figure is a state-average effective rate from the Tax Foundation, and actual Haywood County or township rates may differ. Pull the county assessor's current millage before finalizing your underwrite. The insurance rate of 0.36% is modest and does not materially distort the carry cost picture.

The stability score of 50 is the number that deserves the most scrutiny. For a county of 17,806 people, demand concentration risk is real: any softening in local employment or outmigration compresses rents and extends vacancy quickly, and there is no large secondary demand pool to absorb supply. No economic anchor data was provided, so this analysis cannot speak to specific employers or industries driving rental demand, but the small population base means the investor should independently verify what is actually supporting household formation and income growth before committing capital.

Compared to its neighbors, Haywood's clearest advantage is price. Carroll County is nearly identical in median price at $180,314 with a slightly lower overall score of 63, so it offers no real upgrade. Rhea County ($266,373, score 68), Lincoln County ($257,281, score 68), Anderson County ($301,800, score 62), and Greene County ($240,638, score 62) all come in materially higher on price while delivering comparable or lower overall scores. Anderson County does carry a slightly better gross yield at 6.36% versus Haywood's 6.29%, and Greene County leads the group at 6.52%, both on larger rent bases, which may improve the leveraged cash-flow picture at those price points relative to what the raw cap rates suggest. The reason to choose Haywood over any of these neighbors is straightforwardly the entry price and affordability score: if you are executing a value-add strategy and want to minimize initial capital exposure, $175,946 median gives you the lowest bar to clear. If yield quality and market depth matter more than acquisition cost, Greene County's 6.52% rent-to-price ratio on a $1,308 rent base is worth modeling alongside Haywood before committing.