Janesville’s Zillow ZHVI typical home value is $300,089 and ZORI typical observed market rent is $1,214 a month. That implies a 4.9% gross yield before every operating cost; it is not a cap rate. The ZHVI equals 4.1x ACS median household income, while annual ZORI equals 19.8% of that income, framing purchase affordability as tighter than headline rent affordability. Current values and rents are market indicators, not forecasts of returns.
Citywide, 32.7% of occupied units are renter occupied and 3.4% of all units are vacant. ACS reports a $223,400 median home value for surveyed owner-occupied homes and $1,054 median gross rent for occupied rentals, including selected utilities. These occupied-housing measures differ in definition and period from Zillow’s typical-value and observed-market-rent series, so they should not be averaged. Tenure and vacancy are citywide stock context, not evidence that a particular rental will lease quickly.
Among city renters, 41.8% pay at least 30% of income toward gross rent, indicating burden but not payment performance. Single-family homes are 74.4% of stock, while large multifamily structures are 6.5%, a mix weighted toward detached housing. Only a subset of vacant city units is listed for rent; ACS vacancy reasons do not measure investable inventory or guarantee lease-up. Population was 66,030, up 2.8% between overlapping ACS five-year vintages; this is not an annual rate and may reflect boundary changes. Median household income is $73,446, poverty is 9.0%, and unemployment is 4.1%; these are descriptive demand constraints, not causes or a property-specific tenant profile.
At the county scope, Rock County’s effective property-tax rate is 1.6% and county listings spent a median 44 days on market; parcel costs and timing still require verification. In the Janesville metro, employment declined 0.3% year over year, a demand caution rather than a city result. The metro had 2.3 months of supply and price drops on 17.5% of listings, transaction context rather than city conditions. The national 30-year mortgage rate was 6.7%, financing context rather than a borrower quote.
The headline yield excludes taxes, insurance, maintenance, management, utilities, turnover, vacancy and financing. Underwrite the target property with verified rent roll and leases, parcel taxes, insurance and hazard quotes, inspection and repair scope, utility responsibility, management and turnover assumptions, financing terms, title and zoning review, and property-specific comparable rents and sales. Test cash flow under weaker rent, longer vacancy and higher expenses; citywide and wider-context data cannot establish condition, legal use, tenant quality or achievable rent.