Great Falls’ current Zillow ZHVI is about $342,814, and ZORI is $1,367 per month, implying a 4.8% gross yield before every operating cost. The home value equals 5.4x ACS median household income, while annual ZORI equals 25.9% of that income. This is a screening yield, not net return, because financing and all operating and transaction costs are excluded. Affordability needs property-level testing because the income benchmark is citywide, not a prospective tenant’s income.
The city has 28,418 housing units, and renters occupy 33.9% of occupied units. ACS reports a $257,000 median value for occupied owner housing and $900 median gross rent, including selected utilities. Those surveyed ACS measures differ in definition and period from Zillow’s typical city home value and typical observed market rent; averaging or substituting them would be misleading.
Single-family structures are 69.5% of all units, showing stock weighted toward detached homes, not purchasable inventory. Rent burden is material: 45.7% of measured city renters spend at least 30% of income on gross rent. Of vacant units, 14.3% are classified for rent, and the citywide vacancy rate is 7.2%; neither figure measures available investment inventory or shows whether a specific rental will lease quickly. Population is 60,329, a 2.5% change between overlapping ACS vintages; that change is not annualized and may reflect boundary changes. Median household income is $63,373, poverty is 14.5% and unemployment is 3.7%. These describe demand constraints, not causation, tenant quality or achievable rent.
In Cascade County, county listings show a 45-day median market time and a 14.7% price-reduced share, while the county property-tax rate is 0.874%; these county measures provide transaction and expense context, not city inventory or a parcel tax bill. The Great Falls metro has -2.5% job growth and 3.7 months of supply, showing a softer labor signal alongside resale availability at metro scope. The national Freddie Mac 30-year mortgage rate is 6.66%, setting national financing context rather than a borrower quote.
Underwriting should not treat city averages as a property pro forma. The largest unknowns are achievable rent, concessions, condition, capital work, insurance, taxes, owner-paid utilities, management and lease-up. Next, verify rent rolls and leases; inspect roof, systems and structure; obtain insurance and tax quotes; review title, zoning and permits; compare similar rentals and sales; and stress-test vacancy, repairs, financing and exit costs. These checks determine whether the gross yield survives at asset level.