Fremont’s current Zillow ZHVI typical home value is $261,080 and its Zillow ZORI typical observed market rent is $1,244 a month. That produces a 5.7% gross yield before every operating and financing cost, so it is a screening ratio rather than expected return. Against the city’s ACS median household income of $71,152, the Zillow value is 3.7x income and annualized Zillow rent is 21.0% of income. Mixing Zillow market measures with surveyed ACS income makes these affordability comparisons directional.
The city has 11,797 housing units; renters occupy 38.0% of occupied units, while the citywide vacancy rate is 6.0%. The ACS median owner-reported home value is $214,700, and ACS median gross rent is $1,080, including contract rent plus selected utilities. Those surveyed occupied-housing measures differ in concept and period from Zillow’s typical value and observed market rent, so they should not be averaged. The median structure was built in 1966, a citywide stock marker that does not establish any property’s condition.
Direct city evidence shows 34.4% of renters are burdened by housing costs. Single-family homes are 76.0% of units and large multifamily buildings are 6.6%; these ACS structure shares do not measure purchasable inventory. Of vacant units, 53.2% are classified as for rent, but vacancy reasons do not show current availability or lease-up speed. Population is 27,567, up 4.3% between overlapping ACS vintages; this is not an annual rate and may reflect boundary change. Median household income is $71,152, poverty is 11.6%, and unemployment is 4.2%, describing demand constraints without proving rent causation.
In Dodge County county context, Realtor listings had a median 52 days on market and 20.6% had price reductions, showing county seller adjustment, not city transaction conditions. In the broader Fremont metro, employment grew 1.1% over the reported span and metro for-sale supply was 3.1 months, context that does not measure Fremont alone. The national Freddie Mac mortgage rate was 6.66%, a financing benchmark rather than a local borrowing quote.
The central limitation is that city averages cannot reveal a target asset’s achievable rent, occupancy, tenant turnover, physical condition, taxes, insurance, utilities, management burden or capital needs. Underwrite from the actual asking price and verified lease or comparable market rents; obtain a property-specific tax record, insurance and hazard quotes, utility responsibilities, inspection, title review, repair scope and financing terms. Recalculate cash flow and debt coverage under vacancy, maintenance and capital-repair stress rather than relying on the gross-yield screen.