Investing in Flagler County, FL Real Estate: The Actual Numbers

Considering rental property in Flagler County, FL? The typical home ($350,829, Zillow) against typical rent ($1,906/mo, Zillow Observed Rent Index) works out to a 6.5% gross cap rate. Gross is where analysis starts, not ends — below is the investor cost stack that turns it into a real number, and the demand-and-supply data that decides whether the rent holds.

Flagler County yield at a glance

6.5%

Gross cap rate

$350,829

Typical value (Zillow)

$1,906/mo

Typical rent (ZORI)

15.3

Price-to-annual-rent

4.59%

After tax + insurance (approx.)

The investor cost stack, worked

Start with $22,870 of gross annual rent. Property tax: investors get NO homestead exemption and no 3% cap — at Flagler County’s typical 14.65 mills on a $350,829 assessment, roughly $5,139 a year (non-homestead assessments can still rise up to 10% annually). Insurance: Citizens averages about $1,626/yr here, and landlord (DP-3) policies typically price above owner-occupied. That already takes the yield to about 4.59% before vacancy, maintenance, management and any HOA — the line items that separate real operators from spreadsheet optimists.

Will the rent hold? Demand and supply

Rent growth here is running +1.1% (Zillow index). On demand, IRS migration data shows a net 4,355 people per year into the county; on supply, builders pulled 2,586 residential permits in 2025. Rising rents plus positive migration plus a restrained pipeline is the configuration that protects yields; the reverse erodes them. Our valuation model currently reads the county as undervalued by 2.3% versus income-and-rent fundamentals.

Where investors actually buy here

Community-level medians, days on market and price trends for every tracked Flagler County community are on the county’s community and lifestyle pages — start with the affordability ranking and the county rent page (full rent-versus-own math).

The Flagler County market, in context

Flagler County is Palm Coast — one of Florida's newest cities, a planned 1970s ITT development of canals and trails between St. Augustine and Daytona that has become a fast-growing, affordable coastal county with an A-rated school district and a quiet beach-town pace at Flagler Beach.

The economy behind the market: {'drivers': 'healthcare, education, retail and construction, and government', 'summary': "Flagler's economy is led by the school district (the county's largest employer) and healthcare (AdventHealth Palm Coast), with retail, construction, and government rounding out a market still heavily oriented toward retirees and Daytona-and-St. Augustine commuters. Tourism along Flagler Beach and the growing Town Center add to the base.", 'employers': ['Flagler Schools', 'AdventHealth Palm Coast', 'Flagler County government', 'City of Palm Coast', 'Publix', 'Palm Coast Town Center retail'], 'jobNote': "Flagler Schools is the county's largest employer; Palm Coast, incorporated in 1999, is one of Florida's newest and fastest-growing cities."}

What could change it: Flagler's risks are coastal hurricane and flood exposure on Flagler Beach and the barrier 'Hammock' (Hurricanes Matthew and Irma eroded the beachfront and A1A), rising coastal insurance, and the growing pains of a fast-expanding planned city. Inland Palm Coast carries lower surge risk, and insurance runs below the immediate oceanfront.

Near-term outlook: Expect Flagler to keep drawing affordability-focused retirees and commuters over the next 12 months, with new construction in Palm Coast keeping buyers in a good position and the beach and Hammock high end the most premium — coastal insurance the main brake.

Run the numbers in Flagler County

Common questions

What is the cap rate in Flagler County, FL?

About 6.5% gross - typical Zillow value against typical ZORI rent. After typical property tax (no homestead benefits for investors) and average insurance, roughly 4.59% before vacancy, maintenance and management.

Do investors pay more property tax in Florida?

Effectively yes: non-homestead property gets no $25-50K exemption and no 3%% Save Our Homes cap - assessments can rise up to 10%% per year, and the assessment resets to roughly your purchase price when you buy.

Is Flagler County a good place to buy rental property?

That depends on your basis, financing and operations - this page gives the inputs: 6.5% gross yield, the tax-and-insurance stack, +1.1% rent growth, and migration and permit data. Not investment advice; run your own underwriting.

Figures from Zillow research series, Zillow Observed Rent Index, verified county millage, Citizens Property Insurance, IRS SOI migration and Census permits, as of 2026-06-16; deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Informational only - not investment, tax or legal advice. Equal Housing Opportunity.