Brookings’ Zillow ZHVI typical city home value is $327,508, while Zillow ZORI typical observed city market rent is $1,100 monthly. Annualized ZORI divided by ZHVI gives a 4.0% gross yield before every operating cost. The home value is 5.2x ACS median household income, and annualized ZORI equals 20.8% of that income. Those are broad affordability screens, not a financing quote, tenant budget, or property cash-flow result.
The city has 9,984 housing units; renters occupy 52.3% of occupied units, and the citywide vacancy rate is 8.4%. ACS reports a $265,500 median value for surveyed owner-occupied housing and $889 median gross rent for surveyed renter-occupied housing, with gross rent including contract rent plus selected utilities. These ACS measures differ in definition, sample, and period from Zillow’s typical home value and observed market rent, so they should not be averaged or treated as conflicting appraisals.
Direct city evidence shows 40.7% of renter households are rent-burdened, while single-family structures are 55.6% and large multifamily structures are 12.1% of housing units. Of vacant units, 30.5% were classified as for rent. Population declined 0.7% between overlapping ACS vintages; this is not annualized, and boundary changes may affect the comparison. Median household income is $63,493, with poverty at 16.9% and unemployment at 4.5%. These citywide survey facts describe demand constraints and stock composition, but do not measure available investment inventory or prove lease-up speed.
Brookings County context records a median 39 days on market and 64 active listings, useful for framing county resale liquidity but not city-specific liquidity. The Brookings, SD metro had 3.5 months of supply, while Brookings, SD metro employment grew 1.6%; the metro measures provide broader balance and labor context rather than city outcomes. The national 30-year mortgage rate was 6.7%, a national financing benchmark that does not state any borrower’s achievable rate or the economics of a particular Brookings property.
Underwriting remains limited by citywide aggregates, differing Zillow and ACS definitions, overlapping survey vintages, and wider geographies that do not measure the city. Before acting, obtain address-level rent and sale comparables; inspect condition, age, and deferred maintenance; verify parcel taxes, insurance, hazard exposure, utilities, association charges, zoning, and title; and model vacancy, management, repairs, capital spending, transaction costs, and actual loan terms. Recalculate cash flow and returns from the property’s own price, achievable rent, and documented expenses.