Dothan’s Zillow typical home value is $207,626 and its typical observed market rent is $1,207 a month. Their 7.0% gross yield is annualized rent divided by value, before vacancy, management, maintenance, insurance, taxes, financing and capital work. The value is 3.72x ACS median household income, while annualized Zillow rent equals 26.0% of that income. It is a screening frame, not a property return.
The city has 33,734 housing units; 42.9% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and 13.0% of all units are vacant. These citywide measures describe stock tenure and occupancy, not a specific rental’s leasing speed. ACS reports a $194,000 median home value for surveyed owner-occupied housing and $960 median gross rent for surveyed renter-occupied housing, including selected utilities. Those ACS measures differ in concept and period from Zillow’s typical value and observed market rent and should not be averaged or substituted.
Within the city, 47.1% of renter households are rent-burdened. Single-family structures make up 72.7% of units, while large multifamily structures are 2.9%; among vacant units, 27.3% are classified as for rent. Population changed by 5.3% between overlapping ACS five-year vintages; this is not annualized or an event count and may reflect boundary changes. Median household income is $55,792, the poverty rate is 19.3%, and unemployment is 4.3%. These citywide survey indicators are descriptive demand constraints; they do not identify rentable inventory, prove leasing velocity or establish causes.
County context for Dale County shows 19.5% of Realtor listings with price reductions. County context for Henry County shows 19.5%. County context for Houston County shows 24.5%. Keep the county records separate because their listing denominators are not city measures. In the Dothan metro, Redfin supply is 4.4 months, a market-balance indicator rather than city inventory. The national Freddie Mac 30-year mortgage rate is 6.66%, financing context rather than a Dothan borrowing quote.
The screen is limited by citywide averages, ACS sampling, mismatched Zillow and ACS concepts, and county or metro denominators that do not describe a parcel. Gross yield excludes operating and capital costs, while city vacancy and renter shares cannot predict a lease. Before underwriting, verify the parcel’s county, address-relevant rent and sale comparables, taxes, insurance and hazard exposure, utilities, management, expected downtime, condition and repairs, association charges, title and permits, and lender terms. Recalculate cash flow and coverage using the actual price and lease assumptions.