Aurora’s current Zillow ZHVI is $327,932 and its ZORI is $2,287 per month, implying an 8.37% gross yield before every operating cost. The ZHVI equals 3.50x ACS median household income, while annualized ZORI equals 29.31% of that income. Those screens indicate a potentially workable top line, not cash flow: taxes, insurance, maintenance, vacancy, management, capital spending and financing remain uncounted.
The city has 63,763 housing units and a 3.84% citywide vacancy rate; renters occupy 33.60% of occupied units. ACS reports a $274,800 median value for surveyed owner-occupied housing and $1,596 median gross rent, including selected utilities. These survey measures differ in period and concept from Zillow’s typical value and observed market rent and should not be averaged.
Among measured city renters, 45.72% spend at least 30% of income on gross rent. Single-family homes are 75.25% of units, versus 7.25% in large multifamily structures. Units vacant for rent are 28.50% of vacant housing, a vacancy-reason share rather than available investment inventory. The current ACS population is 179,898, down 10.02% between overlapping ACS vintages; the change is not annualized and may reflect boundary changes. Median household income is $93,633 and unemployment is 5.82%; poverty also describes demand constraints without proving causation. These citywide facts cannot establish achievable rent, tenant quality or lease-up for a property.
In DuPage County, the county property-tax rate is 2.046%, a parcel-cost benchmark rather than an Aurora-wide rate. In Kane County, the county rate is 2.257%. In Kendall County, the county rate is 2.373%. In Will County, the county rate is 2.244%; these county records must remain separate because Aurora crosses county lines. In the broader Chicago metro, jobs grew 0.15% year over year, indicating limited regional employment momentum without proving city demand. The national 30-year mortgage rate is 6.58%, an important financing hurdle that does not measure Aurora borrowing terms.
Underwriting is limited by citywide and survey-level evidence, differing ACS and Zillow definitions, overlapping population vintages, and county, metro and national geographies that do not measure Aurora itself. Before acting, verify the parcel’s county, asking price, unit configuration, condition, utility responsibility, current and attainable rent, lease history, concessions, delinquency, actual vacancy, taxes, insurance, flood and hazard exposure, maintenance, capital needs, management costs and financing quote. Build downside cases for slower leasing, rent shortfalls and major repairs; compare net operating income and debt service rather than relying on gross yield.