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

Considering rental property in Martin County, FL? The typical home ($449,805, Zillow) against typical rent ($2,291/mo, Zillow Observed Rent Index) works out to a 6.1% 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.

Martin County yield at a glance

The investor cost stack, worked

Start with $27,494 of gross annual rent. Property tax: investors get NO homestead exemption and no 3% cap — at Martin County’s typical 15.47 mills on a $449,805 assessment, roughly $6,958 a year (non-homestead assessments can still rise up to 10% annually). Insurance: Citizens averages about $2,580/yr here, and landlord (DP-3) policies typically price above owner-occupied. That already takes the yield to about 3.99% 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 +4.9% (Zillow index). On demand, IRS migration data shows a net 1,335 people per year into the county; on supply, builders pulled 845 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 overvalued by 13.2% versus income-and-rent fundamentals.

Where investors actually buy here

Community-level medians, days on market and price trends for every tracked Martin 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 Martin County market, in context

Martin County is Stuart and the Sailfish-Capital coast — a deliberately low-density, affluent Treasure Coast county that has fought to preserve its small-town, waterfront character.

The economy behind the market: {'drivers': 'healthcare, marine industry, professional services, and agriculture', 'summary': "Martin's economy is anchored by Cleveland Clinic Martin Health (the county's largest employer), a robust marine industry — boat building, repair, and yacht services around Stuart's waterways — plus professional services tied to an affluent population and an agricultural base (citrus, cattle) in the west. The county's strict growth management deliberately limits the scale of development.", 'employers': ['Cleveland Clinic Martin Health', 'Martin County School District', 'Martin County government', 'marine-industry firms (boatbuilding, repair, yacht services)', 'Publix', 'agriculture (west county)'], 'jobNote': "Cleveland Clinic Martin Health is the county's largest employer; Stuart's marine industry — boatbuilding, repair, and yacht services — is a defining sector."}

What could change it: Martin carries Treasure Coast hurricane and storm-surge exposure on the barrier island and along the rivers, with high coastal insurance, and the Indian River Lagoon's health is an environmental concern. The county's strict growth management keeps supply tight (supporting values but limiting options), and prices run above the neighboring Treasure Coast counties.

Run the numbers in Martin County

• Find the best agent in Martin County
• Get a cash offer in Martin County
• Martin County housing scorecard
• What would selling net you
• Buyer closing costs calculator

Common questions

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.