Bosque County

Bosque County sits at a median home price of $245,907, down 1.3% year-over-year, with an affordability index of 77, which places it in reasonably accessible territory for a Texas market. The problem is what's missing: the cash flow score is zero, and the cap rate and cash-on-cash return fields are both zeroed out, meaning the data doesn't support a constructive cash-flow case here at current pricing. That's not an anomaly to wave away. With a purchase price near $246K and a 6.85% rate on a conventional 20%-down loan, the mortgage load alone is significant before you layer in the $471 per month in taxes and insurance. The appreciation score of 43 out of 100 is below average, and the overall score of 56 lands Bosque at the 39th national percentile and 93rd out of 243 Texas counties. This market is not delivering on either end of the cash-flow/appreciation spectrum in a compelling way right now.

That profile tells you something specific about who this market does and doesn't suit. A pure cash-flow buyer has no numerical case to make here: the score is literally zero, and no cap rate is generated from the available data. An appreciation buyer might consider the 43 appreciation score and the 1.3% price decline and ask whether they're buying a dip or catching a falling knife. The most plausible investor fit is a value-add operator who can acquire below the median, force equity through renovation, and either refinance or sell into a thinner market. But even that play requires discipline on the buy price, because at $246K the margin for error is narrow given the carrying costs. The affordability score of 77 does suggest the county isn't priced out of reach for tenants, which matters for keeping units occupied, but affordability for renters doesn't automatically translate to landlord returns when acquisition costs are this high relative to what the rental income supports.

No economic anchors or employer data were provided for Bosque County, so it would be speculation to characterize the employment base or job stability beyond what the population figure implies: at 18,404 residents, this is a small, rural county with a limited local economy. Small population markets carry inherent concentration risk. A single large employer closing, a demographic shift, or even a run of bad weather affecting agriculture can move vacancy rates in ways that a 50,000-person market would absorb more easily. Bosque sits in north-central Texas, which gives it some proximity to the Waco and Fort Worth metro corridors, but proximity doesn't equal demand unless tenants are actually commuting from here, and the data doesn't confirm that.

The tax and insurance carry deserves its own line on any underwrite. At a 1.80% state-average effective property tax rate, Texas's tax burden is high enough to materially affect returns, and this is flagged as such in the data. On a $246K purchase, that comes to roughly $4,426 annually in property taxes alone. Add $1,230 in annual insurance and you're at $471 per month before touching the mortgage, maintenance, property management, or vacancy reserves. That $471 figure is the floor on non-debt operating costs, and it should be treated as a hard constraint in any cash-flow model. The caveat from the data provider applies: this is a state-average estimate from Tax Foundation 2024, and Bosque's actual county and township rate may be higher or lower. Verify the specific parcel rate before closing.

Compared to the neighboring counties provided, Bosque is mid-pack on price and score. Robertson County scores the same overall at 56 but carries a higher median of $259,047, making Bosque the cheaper option between the two with no score advantage to Robertson. Karnes, De Witt, and Uvalde counties all score 55 with medians between $193K and $212K, meaning an investor who prioritizes lower acquisition cost and a similar score profile could find more room to work in any of those three. Duval County is the outlier at a $75,098 median and a 55 overall score, which looks cheap on paper but likely reflects illiquidity, thin rental demand, or other structural issues that the score alone doesn't capture. The case for choosing Bosque over its neighbors is not obvious from these numbers. If you're drawn to the area for personal or operational reasons, the relative affordability versus Robertson makes it the marginally better entry point between those two. But if pure investment math is driving the decision, Karnes or De Witt offer lower basis for essentially the same score, and that lower basis gives a value-add operator more room to execute.