Deerfield Beach’s current Zillow ZHVI typical home value is $272,664, while Zillow ZORI typical observed market rent is $2,440 per month. Annualizing that rent against the value gives a 10.7% gross yield before every operating cost and financing. The value equals 4.6x city median household income, and annualized ZORI equals 49.0% of that income. These affordability measures are city-level benchmarks, not a tenant’s budget or a property’s achievable rent.
The city has 46,578 housing units. Its citywide vacancy rate is 21.8%, while renters occupy 36.1% of occupied homes; neither measure proves that a specific unit will lease quickly. ACS reports a $309,600 median home value for surveyed owner-occupied housing and $1,774 median gross rent for occupied rentals, including contract rent plus selected utilities. These ACS medians differ in concept and period from Zillow’s typical measures, so they should remain separate rather than be blended into a valuation or yield.
Direct city evidence shows 66.1% of renters are cost-burdened. Single-family units are 36.4% of stock and units in large multifamily structures are 34.4%. Among vacant units, 7,371 are seasonal and 7.7% are for rent, so headline vacancy overstates the stock explicitly classified for rent. Population was 9.7% higher across overlapping ACS vintages; that is not annualized and may reflect boundary changes. Median household income is $59,730, with poverty at 15.1% and unemployment at 5.4%. These survey facts describe demand constraints and stock composition, but cannot identify available investment inventory, property condition, tenant quality, or future demand.
At the county scope, Broward County reports an 82-day median listing time, a 0.938% property-tax rate, and a 0.2115% climate loss ratio; each has a different denominator and none sets the result for a Deerfield Beach property. At the metro scope, Miami employment declined 0.26% over the reported annual interval and the metro reported 19,168 year-to-date permits; these provide broader labor and permitting context, not city outcomes. At the national scope, the Freddie Mac mortgage rate is 6.66%, a financing benchmark rather than a local return.
Underwriting should start with the actual asset, not the citywide gross yield. Verify purchase price, unit-specific market rent, lease comparables, downtime, concessions, management, repairs, reserves, utilities, association dues and rental restrictions. Obtain property-specific insurance, wind and flood terms, inspect structure and systems, confirm taxes at the acquisition basis, and review title, code, and permitting records. Then model financing and downside cash flow; city surveys and county, metro, and national context cannot resolve those inputs.