Fairfax’s current Zillow ZHVI indicates a typical city home value of $798,660, while Zillow ZORI indicates typical observed monthly market rent of $2,458. Their implied gross yield is 3.7%, before every operating cost. The value equals 6.0x ACS median household income, and annual ZORI equals 22.3% of that income. This is a high-dollar, modest headline-yield frame, not evidence that a specific property will cash-flow.
Citywide ACS context counts 9,313 housing units, with renters occupying 30.1% of occupied units and a 1.7% vacancy rate; the median construction year is 1967. ACS reports a $722,600 median owner-reported home value and $2,245 median gross rent for surveyed occupied housing, with gross rent including selected utilities. Those ACS measures differ in definition and period from Zillow’s typical value and observed market rent, so they should not be averaged.
ACS reports a 51.1% city rent-burden share. Single-family homes make up 71.4% of city housing units, versus 9.4% in large multifamily buildings. No vacant unit was categorized for rent; most recorded vacancies were for sale or seasonal, but vacancy reasons are survey context rather than available investment inventory. The current ACS vintage reports 25,026 residents, a 6.4% increase from the overlapping baseline vintage; it is not annualized and may reflect boundary changes. Median household income is $132,348, while poverty is 9.1% and unemployment 3.3%. These are descriptive constraints, not causes or proof of lease-up.
Fairfax City county context shows FHFA annual home-price-index growth of 4.0%; this county series is not the city Zillow measure. Fairfax City county context also records a 0.9% property-tax rate and 6.4% investor share, which cannot determine a parcel’s bill or buyer competition. The national Freddie Mac mortgage rate is 6.58%, a national financing benchmark rather than a city borrowing quote.
Underwriting should replace headline averages with the subject’s purchase price, achievable rent, lease terms and comparable listings. Verify the parcel’s tax assessment, insurance, flood and climate exposure, homeowners-association rules, utilities, maintenance, capital work and legal rental status. Inspect systems and structure given the city stock’s median vintage, and test vacancy, concessions, management and financing under conservative scenarios. City vacancy cannot guarantee leasing speed, while county and national context should remain sensitivity inputs, not substitutes for property-level due diligence.