The story of this market
The typical home in McDowell County, West Virginia sells for about $36,987, or $54 per square foot.
Prices are down 17.11% from a year ago, which gives buyers more room to negotiate. Homes take about 170 days to sell, which is slow. HUD's fair market rent for a two-bedroom is $944 a month.
HUD sets the fair market rent for a 2-bedroom at $944 a month. FEMA's National Risk Index rates overall hazard risk here as Relatively Moderate.
Monthly price momentum
Home values since 2015
+8.9%
WV · past 12 months
Freddie Mac House Price Index, single-family homes, monthly through 2026-08. Each line starts at 100 in January 2015, so a reading of 180 means prices are up 80% since then.
Rent benchmark
Fair market rent by size
$1,236
3-bed / month
HUD Fair Market Rents, fiscal 2027, for this county. A typical rent for a modest unit, used to set housing-voucher payments.
Natural hazard exposure
The area's risk shape
81
Relatively Moderate
FEMA National Risk Index. Each spoke is a hazard ranked nationally, where 100 is the most exposed. Expected annual loss: $20,579,587.
Mortgage activity
Home lending in this county
48.6%
2018 approval rate
| Year | Applications | Loans made | Approval | Investor share | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 143 | 45 | 48.6% | 0% | $65,000 |
CFPB Home Mortgage Disclosure Act records: every mortgage application reported by lenders for homes in this county. Approval rate is approved ÷ decided (withdrawn and incomplete files excluded). Investor share and home value are the median census tract.
McDowell County, West Virginia
McDowell County's housing market is characterized by extremely low transaction volume and significant price volatility, reflecting a long-term economic contraction. The area remains one of the most affordable in the nation, though this is driven by persistent poverty and a declining population base. Market activity is minimal, with very few active listings and closed sales.
No ARED distress-ledger coverage for this county yet — the foreclosure ingest rotates the national county directory, and filings appear here once the county's posted notices are read. Key-figure check: no independent anchor retained yet — first-researched cycles establish the anchor baseline this pass.
Select a city to expand its ZIP intel reports beneath · 2 cities · 27 ZIP reports
Median prices moved up 38.5% year over year.
Homes spend a median of 275 days on market with 0.0 months of supply — a balanced-paced market.
0% of listings have cut prices · homes sell at 2.44% of asking — demand is holding steady.
no recorded foreclosure-ledger notices (0.0 per 10,000 residents) · unemployment 9.1% · poverty 34.2% — elevated distress and economic pressure.
Deterministic aggregate of 27 researched ZIP reports — sales_count-weighted (population fallback); per point, children lacking the value or its weight are excluded. Tax rates, sentiment and context notes are tier-native and never roll.
No researched properties in this county yet — the property base layer populates as property research runs, and each property feeds its ZIP's roll-up.
researched Sep 26
researched Sep 26
researched Sep 26
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researched Sep 30
researched Sep 26
| 24801 | Welch | $109,250 | $62 | -23.8% | 87 | — | — | — | 18 | $812 | researched Sep 26 |
| 24818 | Brenton | $145,000 | $112 | +2.1% | 84 | 96.5% | 18% | 5.2 | 42 | $850 | researched Sep 26 |
| 24827 | Cyclone | $145,000 | $98 | +2.1% | 72 | 96.5% | 12% | 5.6 | 45 | $850 | researched Sep 26 |
| 24830 | Elbert | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | researched Sep 26 |
| 24831 | Elkhorn | $45,000 | $35 | +2.5% | 180 | 92% | 15% | 14 | 12 | $650 | researched Sep 26 |
| 24834 | Fanrock | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | researched Sep 26 |
| 24836 | Gary | $125,000 | $85 | -2.4% | 112 | 94.5% | 18% | 14.2 | 48 | $850 | researched Sep 26 |
| 24844 | Iaeger | $125,000 | $85 | +2.5% | 112 | 94% | 12% | 6.2 | 18 | $850 | researched Sep 26 |
| 24849 | Jesse | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | researched Sep 30 |
| 24852 | — | $45,000 | $35 | -2.5% | 180 | 92% | 15% | 12 | 12 | $650 | researched Sep 26 |
Figures are each ZIP report's own latest research — the county roll-up aggregates them sales_count-weighted (population fallback); ZIPs cycle quarterly.
The county has experienced significant long-term economic decline following the contraction of the coal mining industry, which historically dominated the local economy.
The economy is historically tied to coal mining, which has seen a long-term decline, leading to high poverty rates and a shrinking population base.
- Lake Shawnee Abandoned Amusement Park4.127.8 mi
- Back of the Dragon4.819.9 mi
- The RailYard4.424.8 mi
- Buffalo Trail Restaurant and Bar4.521.7 mi
- Back of the Dragon4.819.9 mi
- Buffalo Trails Of VA4.916.6 mi
- Pocahontas Exhibition Coal Mine & Museum4.617.4 mi
- Cavitt's Creek Park4.616.6 mi
- Historic Crab Orchard Museum4.718.8 mi
- Lake Shawnee Abandoned Amusement Park4.127.8 mi
- Wilmore Dam4.86.4 mi
- Pocahontas Exhibition Coal Mine & Museum4.617.4 mi
- Historic Crab Orchard Museum4.718.8 mi
- Lincolnshire Park4.619.2 mi
- Cavitt's Creek Park4.616.6 mi
Theme parks, venues, golf, airports, museums, water and shopping across the area from Google Maps, ranked by popularity within the radius shown.
The amenity base that shapes daily life and property demand in this county — what residents actually live with, and what the pipeline is adding.
A state-managed area for outdoor recreation.
Data sourced from Census Reporter and U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts.