Altoona’s current Zillow ZHVI, a typical city home value, is $145,887, while Zillow ZORI, a typical observed monthly market rent, is $1,138. Annual ZORI divided by ZHVI produces a 9.4% gross yield before taxes, insurance, maintenance, vacancies, management, and financing. The value is 2.8x ACS median household income, and annual ZORI equals 26.6% of that income.
Altoona’s tenure is 36.1% renter occupied, and 11.8% of city housing units are vacant, citywide stock context rather than proof a rental will lease quickly. ACS finds a $819 median gross rent, including contract rent and selected utilities, and a $119,900 owner-reported median home value among surveyed occupied housing. They are not Zillow’s typical observed market rent or typical home value, use a different measurement frame, and should neither be averaged with Zillow figures nor read as the same period.
Rent burdens reach 30% or more of income for 51.1% of city renter households. Single-family units are 73.7% of the city’s housing stock and large multifamily units are 6.4%; 21.8% of vacant units are ACS-classified as for rent, alongside for-sale and seasonal reasons. These ACS structure and vacancy categories do not measure available investment inventory. The city population is 43,196, down 1.8% across overlapping ACS five-year vintages, not an annual rate and subject to possible boundary changes. Median household income is $51,250, poverty is 16.6%, and unemployment is 6.8%; these are descriptive demand constraints, not causal proof of tenant or rent outcomes.
In Blair County, FHFA’s house-price index rose 7.7% year over year and Realtor reported a 49-day median time on market, county context rather than city performance. In the broader Altoona metro, supply was 2.1 months and 40.4% of listings had price drops. The national Freddie Mac mortgage rate was 6.7%, a financing context that does not measure Altoona demand.
The main underwriting gap is that city measures do not provide subject-property condition, asking rent, lease roll, operating expenses, tax bill, insurance quote, repair needs, utilities, or financing terms. Before a decision, verify comparable active and leased rents, days vacant, unit mix, inspection findings, title, zoning, and flood or other insurance exposure. Recalculate net cash flow after property-specific taxes, insurance, management, reserves, debt terms, and turnover; the city gross yield is explicitly before those costs.