{"area":{"county":"Dale County","state":"AL","stateName":"Alabama","slug":"dale-al","metro":null},"homeValue":{"series":[{"date":"2021-04-01","value":121428},{"date":"2021-07-01","value":127025},{"date":"2021-10-01","value":132284},{"date":"2022-01-01","value":137303},{"date":"2022-04-01","value":140848},{"date":"2022-07-01","value":143500},{"date":"2022-10-01","value":145104},{"date":"2023-01-01","value":147427},{"date":"2023-04-01","value":146919},{"date":"2023-07-01","value":151385},{"date":"2023-10-01","value":151060},{"date":"2024-01-01","value":152349},{"date":"2024-04-01","value":154909},{"date":"2024-07-01","value":156425},{"date":"2024-10-01","value":158323},{"date":"2025-01-01","value":159384},{"date":"2025-04-01","value":160243},{"date":"2025-07-01","value":159690},{"date":"2025-10-01","value":162211},{"date":"2026-01-01","value":162991},{"date":"2026-04-01","value":164691}],"latest":164691,"yoy":2.7757842776283517,"fiveYr":35.628520604802844,"sinceStart":275.75805973214085,"modeled":true},"rent":{"series":[{"date":"2026-11-01","value":921}],"latest":921,"yoy":null,"fiveYr":null,"sinceStart":null,"modeled":true},"census":{"medianIncome":54963,"population":49599,"povertyRate":18.719586062460216,"medianHomeValue":143500,"medianGrossRent":889,"medianPropertyTax":457},"hud":{"county":"Dale County","year":"2027","perUnit":921,"bedrooms":2,"estimated":false,"baseBedrooms":2},"crime":{"scope":"state","state":"Alabama","period":"11-2024 to 10-2026","window":{"from":"11-2024","to":"10-2026","fellBack":false},"violentCrime":{"total":33406,"ratePer100k":321.6390710113135},"propertyCrime":{"total":140403,"ratePer100k":1351.825734514801},"note":"State-level totals from the FBI CDE summarized offense endpoint."},"crimeVintage":{"from":"11-2024","to":"10-2026","fellBack":false},"priceToRentRatio":14.9,"ratioVerdict":"Favorable for buying — price-to-rent favors owning (modeled investor cash flow is negative, so this is owner-occupant math — it is not a claim of strong rental yield)","priceCagr":6.285453270465946,"rentCagr":3,"cashFlow":{"price":164691,"monthlyRent":921,"grossRent":921,"downPct":20,"ratePct":6.75,"units":1,"state":"AL","down":32938.200000000004,"loan":131752.8,"mortgagePI":854.546152975328,"monthlyTax":43.643115,"taxRatePct":0.318,"taxRateSource":"Census ACS county effective rate 0.32% ($457 tax ÷ $143,500 ACS median), applied to current value","monthlyInsurance":98.8146,"insuranceRatePct":0.72,"insuranceBasis":"Insurance: state-level estimate (AL avg 0.72%/yr)","insuranceHighRisk":true,"vacancyPct":5,"vacancyLoss":46.050000000000004,"egi":874.95,"mgmtPct":10,"monthlyMgmt":92.10000000000001,"maintenancePct":5,"monthlyMaint":46.050000000000004,"capexPct":5,"monthlyCapex":46.050000000000004,"hoaMonthly":0,"monthlyHoa":0,"operatingExpenses":326.65771500000005,"noi":548.292285,"totalExpenses":1181.2038679753282,"cashFlow":-306.25386797532803,"annualCf":-3675.0464157039364,"cocReturn":-11.157399055515892,"capRate":3.995061915951691},"resilience":{"scenarios":[{"id":"rentDown","label":"Rent drops 10%","kind":"standard","detail":"Standard assumption","cashFlow":-375.3288679753281,"delta":-69,"survives":false},{"id":"vacancy","label":"Vacancy stretches to 8%","kind":"standard","detail":"Standard assumption","cashFlow":-333.88386797532814,"delta":-28,"survives":false},{"id":"insurance","label":"Insurance costs rise 25%","kind":"standard","detail":"Standard assumption","cashFlow":-330.95751797532796,"delta":-25,"survives":false},{"id":"rateReset","label":"If financed at 8.25% instead","kind":"standard","detail":"Fixed-rate comparison — the deal if you'd borrowed at a higher rate today; your actual fixed payment never resets","cashFlow":-441.5225013020066,"delta":-135,"survives":false},{"id":"historyHome","label":"Worst market shock in available history (since 1991-01-01) (home values −8.7% over 12 months)","kind":"history","detail":"History-derived proxy: worst decline found in any window of up to 12 months in the state FHFA home-value series, 2009-10-01 → 2010-10-01, applied to rent","cashFlow":-366.65369061760106,"delta":-60,"survives":false}],"survived":0,"total":5,"score":0,"worstCashFlow":-441.5225013020066,"baselineCashFlow":-306.25386797532803,"framing":"underwater","confidenceLabel":"verified","omitted":[],"note":"Each scenario re-runs the same verified cash-flow engine with one shock applied, then re-checks the cash-flow identity before display. Standard shocks are fixed assumptions; the history-derived scenario is this market's own worst observed 12-month decline. Estimates only — not a guarantee of performance."},"rentVsBuy":{"years":7,"priceCagr":6.285453270465946,"rentCagr":3,"totalRentPaid":84685.53202252211,"totalCashOutlay":134422.48150067756,"insuranceBasis":"Insurance: state-level estimate (AL avg 0.72%/yr)","homeValueAfter":252340.33166796237,"equityBuilt":132725.2935316651,"netCostOfBuying":34635.38796901246,"buyingCheaper":true,"savings":50050.14405350965},"priceToIncome":{"ratio":2.996397576551498,"price":164691,"medianIncome":54963,"label":"Affordable (≤3x income — historical rule of thumb)"},"countyTaxRatePct":0.318,"countyTaxSource":"Census ACS county effective rate 0.32% ($457 tax ÷ $143,500 ACS median), applied to current value","dataCheck":{"status":"verified","checks":[{"metric":"home value (vintage update)","primary":164691,"secondary":143500,"primarySource":"current estimate (ACS county median × FHFA state HPI growth)","secondarySource":"raw ACS 2023 county median (as measured ~2021)","ratio":1.15,"grade":"verified","consistent":true,"hidePoint":false},{"metric":"HUD fair market rent","primary":921,"secondary":889,"primarySource":"HUD FMR (county)","secondarySource":"Census ACS (county gross rent)","ratio":1.04,"grade":"verified","consistent":true,"hidePoint":false}],"confidence":{"homeValue":{"label":"verified","ratio":1.15,"sources":["current estimate (ACS county median × FHFA state HPI growth)","raw ACS 2023 county median (as measured ~2021)"],"hidePoint":false,"range":{"low":143500,"high":164691}},"rent":{"label":"verified","ratio":1.04,"sources":["HUD FMR (county)","Census ACS (county gross rent)"],"hidePoint":false,"range":{"low":889,"high":921}},"income":{"label":"estimate","sources":["Census ACS"]},"crime":{"label":"estimate","sources":["FBI CDE"]}},"note":"Every headline metric is checked against a second figure, and each check names its own basis. The rent and property-price checks pair genuinely independent datasets (HUD FMR vs Census ACS gross rent; your price vs the county estimate). The home-value check compares our current estimate (ACS county median updated by the FHFA state index) against the raw ACS 2023 median — its spread reflects price movement since the ACS measurement period (~2021), not disagreement between unrelated sources. 'Verified' means the two figures agree within 15%; 'Cross-checked' means they diverge more than 15%; 'Divergent' flags a >2x difference. A spread beyond 35% is too wide to defend a single point — the headline shows the source range instead, flagged 'sources disagree'."},"integrity":{"status":"pass","checks":[{"name":"home value freshness","status":"pass","detail":"latest 2026-04-01 (227d old — current for quarterly cadence)"},{"name":"home value card↔chart","status":"pass","detail":"card matches chart"},{"name":"home value growth window","status":"pass","detail":"growth matches the 5.0yr available window"},{"name":"rent freshness","status":"pass","detail":"latest 2026-11-01 (13d old — current for monthly cadence)"},{"name":"rent card↔chart","status":"pass","detail":"card matches chart"},{"name":"cash flow identity","status":"pass","detail":"NOI − P&I = cash flow"},{"name":"cash-on-cash","status":"pass","detail":"annual CF ÷ down matches"},{"name":"cap rate","status":"pass","detail":"NOI×12 ÷ price matches"},{"name":"price-to-rent","status":"pass","detail":"price ÷ (rent×12) matches"},{"name":"income plausibility","status":"pass","detail":"within expected range"},{"name":"price-to-income","status":"pass","detail":"price ÷ income matches"},{"name":"buy-vs-rent: home value at term","status":"pass","detail":"compounds at 6.3%/yr"},{"name":"buy-vs-rent: total rent paid","status":"pass","detail":"geometric series matches"},{"name":"buy-vs-rent: equity built","status":"pass","detail":"home value − loan balance matches"},{"name":"buy-vs-rent: net cost","status":"pass","detail":"outlay − equity gain matches"},{"name":"buy-vs-rent: savings & verdict","status":"pass","detail":"savings = rent − net cost, verdict matches"}],"summary":"16/16 verified","freshness":{"homeValue":{"date":"2026-04-01","ageDays":227,"cadence":"quarterly","current":true},"rent":{"date":"2026-11-01","ageDays":13,"cadence":"monthly","current":true}}},"confidence":{"homeValue":{"label":"verified","ratio":1.15,"sources":["current estimate (ACS county median × FHFA state HPI growth)","raw ACS 2023 county median (as measured ~2021)"],"hidePoint":false,"range":{"low":143500,"high":164691}},"rent":{"label":"verified","ratio":1.04,"sources":["HUD FMR (county)","Census ACS (county gross rent)"],"hidePoint":false,"range":{"low":889,"high":921}},"income":{"label":"estimate","sources":["Census ACS"]},"crime":{"label":"estimate","sources":["FBI CDE"]}},"verdict":"Dale County, AL leans favorable for buying: a price-to-rent ratio of 14.9 favors owning at the median, and modeled investor cash flow is negative, so this is owner-occupant math — not a claim of strong rental yield.","faqs":[{"q":"Is Dale County, AL a good rental market?","a":"For owning at the median, yes — Dale County's price-to-rent ratio of 14.9 is in the favorable range, but modeled investor cash flow is negative, so it is not a claim of strong rental yield."},{"q":"What is the median home value in Dale County?","a":"The typical home value in Dale County is about $164,691 (county-level, Census ACS & FHFA state HPI), up 2.8% year-over-year, and up 35.6% over five years."},{"q":"What is the median rent in Dale County?","a":"The typical rent in Dale County is about $921/mo (county-level, HUD 2-bedroom benchmark bridged from Census ACS gross rent), a current modeled estimate."},{"q":"Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Dale County?","a":"Over a 7-year horizon, buying is cheaper in Dale County — roughly $50,050 ahead of renting, with about $132,725 in equity built."},{"q":"Is Dale County affordable for homebuyers?","a":"Dale County's median home value is 3.0x the local median household income — Affordable (≤3x income — historical rule of thumb)."},{"q":"What is the property tax rate in Dale County?","a":"Dale County's effective property tax rate is about 0.32% of home value (Census ACS county effective rate 0.32% ($457 tax ÷ $143,500 ACS median), applied to current value), which on a $164,691 median home is roughly $44/mo."}],"takeaways":["The median home value in Dale County, AL was $164,691 as of April 2026, up 2.8% year over year (FHFA HPI applied to the Census ACS county median).","The typical market rent in Dale County, AL was $921/mo as of November 2026, a current modeled estimate (HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027, bridged from Census ACS gross rent).","Dale County, AL has a price-to-rent ratio of 14.9 — a reading that favors owning (owner-occupant math — not automatically strong investor cash flow). (Computed by Areal from the figures above.)"],"citationSources":[{"name":"U.S. Census Bureau — ACS ACS 2024 5-year estimates","url":"https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/"},{"name":"FHFA House Price Index","url":"https://www.fhfa.gov/data/hpi"},{"name":"HUD Fair Market Rent","url":"https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html"},{"name":"FBI Crime Data Explorer","url":"https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/"}],"jsonApi":{"function":"getCountyReport","query":"slug=dale-al","url":"https://areal.studio/functions/getCountyReport?slug=dale-al"},"assumptions":{"downPct":20,"ratePct":6.75,"years":7},"dataVintage":{"pulledAt":"2026-11-14T10:31:19.322Z","homeValueBasis":"FHFA state HPI (quarterly) × ACS county anchor","rentBasis":"HUD county FMR — flat current estimate (modeled, no public trend)","zhviThrough":null,"zoriThrough":null,"fhfaHpiThrough":"2026-04-01","hpiLevel":"state","hpiMetro":null,"acsVintage":"ACS 2024 5-year estimates","acsVintageMisses":[],"hudFy":"2027","safmrFy":null},"zipAnchors":{"homeValueTier":"county-fhfa-acs","rentTier":"county-acs-hud","zhvi":null,"zori":null,"safmr":null,"countyHomeEstimate":164691,"countyFmr":921,"countyRatio":null,"hpiLevel":"state","hpiMetro":null},"links":{"stateDir":"AL","stateName":"Alabama","cityPages":[],"zips":[]},"sources":["Census ACS 5-year","FHFA HPI","HUD Fair Market Rent","FBI CDE (state-level context)"]}