Cass County

Cass County sits at a median home price of $161,740, making it one of the more affordable entry points in Texas. The affordability index of 95 out of 100 confirms this is cheap to buy into relative to income. The problem is that the data returns zeroes across cap rate, cash-on-cash return, estimated cash flow, and monthly mortgage, which means the rent-side of the equation is missing, and no reliable cap rate can be calculated from the available figures. What the data does tell you: home prices fell 2.16% year-over-year, which is not a market gaining momentum, and the appreciation score of 39 out of 100 puts this squarely in the lower tier for price growth. With a population of 28,637 and no upward price movement, this is not a market you underwrite for equity gains.

Without a rent figure in the data, the cash-flow score comes in at zero, not because this county can't cash-flow but because the dataset doesn't support a number. Any investor running a real underwrite here needs to pull local rent comps before making a decision. What you can say from the price side alone is that a $161,740 purchase price at 6.85% interest on an 80% LTV loan, so roughly a $129,392 mortgage, generates a monthly principal and interest payment in the neighborhood of $850 to $860. That's a low mortgage burden by Texas standards, which means modest rents, if supported by comps, could still produce positive cash flow. The low acquisition cost also means less capital at risk on any single door, which can make sense for an investor building a portfolio of smaller-market rentals where ticket size matters.

The tax and insurance picture deserves a careful look. At a state-average effective property tax rate of 1.80%, Texas's rate is high enough to warrant its own dedicated line in your underwrite. On a $161,740 home, that works out to $2,911 annually in property taxes and $809 in insurance, or $310 per month combined, before you've paid a dollar of mortgage, maintenance, or management. That $310 figure is not trivial in a low-price market where gross rents may be in the $900 to $1,100 range. The 1.80% rate is a state-average estimate from the Tax Foundation's 2024 data, and actual Cass County or township rates may differ, so verify the county assessor's numbers before closing. Texas has no income tax, which helps the broader investment calculus, but the property tax load in this state is a real structural headwind to cash flow that doesn't disappear just because you bought cheap.

The economic context for Cass County is not provided in the dataset, so no employer names or anchor industries can be cited here. What the demographic and population data suggest is a small, likely rural market with limited population growth pressure. A 28,637-person county in East Texas is not attracting large employer relocations or significant in-migration. Stability scores at 50 out of 100, exactly median, which reflects a market that isn't collapsing but also isn't showing the kind of demand fundamentals that compress vacancy or push rents higher. Investors expecting rent growth to bail out a marginal deal should price that risk carefully.

Comparing Cass to its neighbors makes the relative position clearer. Bowie County, at a median of $187,245 and a rent-to-price ratio of 8.13%, is the standout in this peer group and scores 61 overall, two points above Cass. That 8.13% gross yield ratio suggests Bowie is generating meaningfully better rent coverage relative to purchase price. Victoria County shows a rent-to-price ratio of 6.39% at a median of $211,088, which is higher-priced and lower-yielding than Bowie but still has a rent figure attached, making underwriting more straightforward. Carson County at $156,104 is slightly cheaper than Cass and scores 61, while Hutchinson County at $114,329 is the cheapest entry point in the group. Cass's overall score of 59 lands it below Carson and Bowie among the neighbors with scores.

The honest case for Cass over its neighbors is narrow. It's cheaper than Bowie, Victoria, and Hamilton, and if local rent comps support a gross rent above roughly $1,100 to $1,200 per month, the low price basis could produce competitive cash flow despite the $310 monthly tax-and-insurance drag. But without confirmed rent data and given the 2.16% price decline, an investor comparing options within this region should look hard at Bowie County first, where the 8.13% rent-to-price ratio provides a visible margin. Cass makes sense only if you have specific knowledge of local rents, can verify that tax rates don't run above the state average here, and are comfortable operating in a sub-30,000-population market with limited liquidity on exit.