Katy’s Zillow ZHVI typical home value is $338,058, while ZORI typical observed market rent is $1,935 monthly. This implies a 6.9% gross yield before every operating cost. Against ACS median household income of $114,912, the Zillow value is 2.9x income and annual ZORI is 20.2% of income. These citywide measures frame entry price, top-line rent and broad affordability, not property cash flow or a specific tenant’s affordability.
ACS survey context shows 8,495 housing units, a 6.5% citywide vacancy rate and a 19.3% renter share. Single-family structures are 87.6% of units, versus 4.6% in large multifamily buildings, showing the stock’s dominant form without identifying purchasable inventory. ACS median owner-reported value is $401,700 and median gross rent is $1,602, including selected utilities. These occupied-housing measures differ in concept and period from Zillow’s typical value and observed market rent; do not average or interchange them.
Among ACS renter households, 63.6% meet the survey’s cost-burden threshold, an affordability constraint rather than a rent-collection forecast. Of vacant units, 78.3% are classified for rent; that share does not measure available investment listings or leasing speed. Population is 25,184, up 24.7% between overlapping ACS five-year vintages; the comparison is not annualized and may reflect boundary changes. ACS median household income sits alongside poverty at 8.1% and unemployment at 7.4%; these describe demand constraints, not their causes or a specific applicant pool.
County property-tax context varies: Fort Bend County records 1.86%, Harris County 1.623%, and Waller County 1.27%, making parcel-level verification important across Katy’s county lines. In the broader Houston, TX metro, 36.9% of listings had price drops; this is a metro negotiation signal, not a Katy measure. The national Freddie Mac 30-year mortgage rate was 6.58%, which supplies national financing context rather than a quote for a Katy borrower.
Underwriting is limited by citywide and survey aggregates, cross-source timing, and missing property condition, exact taxes, insurance, association dues, maintenance, management, utilities, concessions, turnover and financing terms. Verify the parcel’s county and tax bill; obtain an address-specific insurance quote and hazard review; inspect major systems; and compare same-type lease and sale evidence. Model cash flow with realistic vacancy, repairs and capital reserves, then stress-test achievable rent and debt service. Confirm legal use, title, flood information and lease restrictions before relying on the headline yield.