Detroit’s current Zillow ZHVI, a typical city home value, is $77,245; Zillow ZORI, a typical observed market rent, is $1,356 monthly. Their direct calculation gives a 21.1% gross yield before taxes, insurance, repairs, capital work, management, utilities, financing, vacancy and collection loss. The ZHVI equals 1.93x ACS median household income, while annual ZORI equals 40.7% of that income. Purchase and rent affordability therefore require separate tests. This is a screening frame, not a net-return estimate.
The city has 329,393 housing units; 21.7% are vacant, and renters occupy 49.7% of occupied units. This shows substantial vacant stock and near-even tenure, but not whether a specific property is rentable. ACS reports an $83,900 median value for occupied owner housing and $1,074 median gross rent for occupied rentals, including contract rent and selected utilities. These surveyed measures differ in concept and period from Zillow’s typical home value and observed market rent; they should not be averaged or substituted for one another.
Within Detroit, 60.7% of renter households are rent-burdened. Single-family structures are 71.4% of units and large multifamily structures 13.4%, describing stock rather than investable inventory. Of vacant units, 5,249 are for rent, or 7.4% of vacancies; this does not establish current availability or condition. The ACS population is 638,530, down 5.4% between overlapping vintages; this is not an annual rate and may reflect boundary changes. Median household income is $39,938, with poverty at 32.7% and unemployment at 14.0%. These are citywide demand constraints, not causes or property-level tenant evidence.
Wayne County shows a 1.63% property-tax rate, 45-day median marketing time and 15.3% price-reduced share; none determines a Detroit parcel’s bill or sale outcome. In the broader Detroit metro, employment fell 0.66% over the reported annual interval, while 7,552 permitted units show activity without revealing Detroit’s share or completions. For the United States nationally, the Freddie Mac mortgage rate is 6.58%, framing financing but not local borrower terms. These Wayne County, broader Detroit metro and national denominators remain separate from city evidence.
Underwriting hinges on the gap between headline gross yield and property-specific net cash flow, with condition, title, code status, taxes, insurance, utilities, achievable rent and turnover unknown. Verify unit-level rent comparables, lease terms, occupancy history, collections and downtime; obtain an inspection and repair scope; confirm taxes, insurance and hazard coverage; review title, permits and code records; and quote financing for the actual borrower and asset. Stress-test expenses and capital needs rather than inferring lease-up from citywide vacancy or wider-market statistics.