{"area":{"county":"Garfield County","state":"MT","stateName":"Montana","slug":"garfield-mt","metro":null},"homeValue":{"series":[{"date":"2021-04-01","value":138571},{"date":"2021-07-01","value":150035},{"date":"2021-10-01","value":155995},{"date":"2022-01-01","value":164416},{"date":"2022-04-01","value":171013},{"date":"2022-07-01","value":169900},{"date":"2022-10-01","value":172152},{"date":"2023-01-01","value":173825},{"date":"2023-04-01","value":177035},{"date":"2023-07-01","value":177127},{"date":"2023-10-01","value":179072},{"date":"2024-01-01","value":182020},{"date":"2024-04-01","value":184727},{"date":"2024-07-01","value":188373},{"date":"2024-10-01","value":192867},{"date":"2025-01-01","value":191823},{"date":"2025-04-01","value":189531},{"date":"2025-07-01","value":191382},{"date":"2025-10-01","value":190318},{"date":"2026-01-01","value":191405},{"date":"2026-04-01","value":194802}],"latest":194802,"yoy":2.78107539136078,"fiveYr":40.57919766762165,"sinceStart":642.0463202803596,"modeled":true},"rent":{"series":[{"date":"2026-11-01","value":1101}],"latest":1101,"yoy":null,"fiveYr":null,"sinceStart":null,"modeled":true},"census":{"medianIncome":69583,"population":1094,"povertyRate":13.413506012950972,"medianHomeValue":169900,"medianGrossRent":725,"medianPropertyTax":1052},"hud":{"county":"Garfield County","year":"2027","perUnit":1101,"bedrooms":2,"estimated":false,"baseBedrooms":2},"crime":{"scope":"state","state":"Montana","period":"11-2024 to 10-2026","window":{"from":"11-2024","to":"10-2026","fellBack":false},"violentCrime":{"total":8560,"ratePer100k":373.899050750681},"propertyCrime":{"total":29911,"ratePer100k":1306.5063676406096},"note":"State-level totals from the FBI CDE summarized offense endpoint."},"crimeVintage":{"from":"11-2024","to":"10-2026","fellBack":false},"priceToRentRatio":14.7,"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":7.050392131296568,"rentCagr":3,"cashFlow":{"price":194802,"monthlyRent":1101,"grossRent":1101,"downPct":20,"ratePct":6.75,"units":1,"state":"MT","down":38960.4,"loan":155841.6,"mortgagePI":1010.7856512614525,"monthlyTax":100.485365,"taxRatePct":0.619,"taxRateSource":"Census ACS county effective rate 0.62% ($1,052 tax ÷ $169,900 ACS median), applied to current value","monthlyInsurance":100.6477,"insuranceRatePct":0.62,"insuranceBasis":"Insurance: state-level estimate (MT avg 0.62%/yr)","insuranceHighRisk":false,"vacancyPct":5,"vacancyLoss":55.050000000000004,"egi":1045.95,"mgmtPct":10,"monthlyMgmt":110.10000000000001,"maintenancePct":5,"monthlyMaint":55.050000000000004,"capexPct":5,"monthlyCapex":55.050000000000004,"hoaMonthly":0,"monthlyHoa":0,"operatingExpenses":421.33306500000003,"noi":624.616935,"totalExpenses":1432.1187162614524,"cashFlow":-386.16871626145246,"annualCf":-4634.024595137429,"cocReturn":-11.894191525593754,"capRate":3.8477034219361195},"resilience":{"scenarios":[{"id":"rentDown","label":"Rent drops 10%","kind":"standard","detail":"Standard assumption","cashFlow":-468.7437162614525,"delta":-83,"survives":false},{"id":"vacancy","label":"Vacancy stretches to 8%","kind":"standard","detail":"Standard assumption","cashFlow":-419.19871626145255,"delta":-33,"survives":false},{"id":"insurance","label":"Insurance costs rise 25%","kind":"standard","detail":"Standard assumption","cashFlow":-411.33064126145246,"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":-546.1689610186259,"delta":-160,"survives":false},{"id":"historyHome","label":"Worst market shock in available history (since 1991-01-01) (home values −7.6% 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, 2010-01-01 → 2011-01-01, applied to rent","cashFlow":-448.6886906879869,"delta":-63,"survives":false}],"survived":0,"total":5,"score":0,"worstCashFlow":-546.1689610186259,"baselineCashFlow":-386.16871626145246,"framing":"underwater","confidenceLabel":"crosscheck","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":7.050392131296568,"rentCagr":3,"totalRentPaid":101236.45033311275,"totalCashOutlay":164050.75816209227,"insuranceBasis":"Insurance: state-level estimate (MT avg 0.62%/yr)","homeValueAfter":313842.134416916,"equityBuilt":172357.48340971483,"netCostOfBuying":30653.67475237744,"buyingCheaper":true,"savings":70582.77558073531},"priceToIncome":{"ratio":2.7995631116795767,"price":194802,"medianIncome":69583,"label":"Affordable (≤3x income — historical rule of thumb)"},"countyTaxRatePct":0.619,"countyTaxSource":"Census ACS county effective rate 0.62% ($1,052 tax ÷ $169,900 ACS median), applied to current value","dataCheck":{"status":"crosscheck","checks":[{"metric":"home value (vintage update)","primary":194802,"secondary":169900,"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":1101,"secondary":725,"primarySource":"HUD FMR (county)","secondarySource":"Census ACS (county gross rent)","ratio":1.52,"grade":"crosscheck","consistent":false,"hidePoint":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":169900,"high":194802}},"rent":{"label":"crosscheck","ratio":1.52,"sources":["HUD FMR (county)","Census ACS (county gross rent)"],"hidePoint":true,"range":{"low":725,"high":1101}},"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 (228d 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 (14d 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 7.1%/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":228,"cadence":"quarterly","current":true},"rent":{"date":"2026-11-01","ageDays":14,"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":169900,"high":194802}},"rent":{"label":"crosscheck","ratio":1.52,"sources":["HUD FMR (county)","Census ACS (county gross rent)"],"hidePoint":true,"range":{"low":725,"high":1101}},"income":{"label":"estimate","sources":["Census ACS"]},"crime":{"label":"estimate","sources":["FBI CDE"]}},"verdict":"Garfield County, MT leans favorable for buying: a price-to-rent ratio of 14.7 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 Garfield County, MT a good rental market?","a":"For owning at the median, yes — Garfield County's price-to-rent ratio of 14.7 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 Garfield County?","a":"The typical home value in Garfield County is about $194,802 (county-level, Census ACS & FHFA state HPI), up 2.8% year-over-year, and up 40.6% over five years."},{"q":"What is the median rent in Garfield County?","a":"The typical rent in Garfield County is about $1,101/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 Garfield County?","a":"Over a 7-year horizon, buying is cheaper in Garfield County — roughly $70,583 ahead of renting, with about $172,357 in equity built."},{"q":"Is Garfield County affordable for homebuyers?","a":"Garfield County's median home value is 2.8x the local median household income — Affordable (≤3x income — historical rule of thumb)."},{"q":"What is the property tax rate in Garfield County?","a":"Garfield County's effective property tax rate is about 0.62% of home value (Census ACS county effective rate 0.62% ($1,052 tax ÷ $169,900 ACS median), applied to current value), which on a $194,802 median home is roughly $100/mo."}],"takeaways":["The median home value in Garfield County, MT was $194,802 as of April 2026, up 2.8% year over year (FHFA HPI applied to the Census ACS county median).","The typical market rent in Garfield County, MT was $1,101/mo as of November 2026, a current modeled estimate (HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027, bridged from Census ACS gross rent).","Garfield County, MT has a price-to-rent ratio of 14.7 — 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=garfield-mt","url":"https://areal.studio/functions/getCountyReport?slug=garfield-mt"},"assumptions":{"downPct":20,"ratePct":6.75,"years":7},"dataVintage":{"pulledAt":"2026-11-14T21:09:54.245Z","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":194802,"countyFmr":1101,"countyRatio":null,"hpiLevel":"state","hpiMetro":null},"links":{"stateDir":"MT","stateName":"Montana","cityPages":[],"zips":[]},"sources":["Census ACS 5-year","FHFA HPI","HUD Fair Market Rent","FBI CDE (state-level context)"]}