Lebanon’s Zillow ZHVI typical city home value is $294,098, and its ZORI typical observed monthly market rent is $1,348. Their implied gross yield is 5.5%, before every operating cost and financing. The home value equals 6.1x ACS median household income, while annualized ZORI equals 33.4% of that income. This frames the starting revenue-to-value relationship and affordability pressure, but it does not establish returns for any property.
The city has 11,685 housing units; renters occupy 53.3% of occupied units. Single-family structures are 65.7% of all units, large multifamily structures are 8.6%, and the median structure year is 1947, so condition and systems require verification. ACS reports a $156,500 median value and $992 median gross rent for surveyed occupied housing, with gross rent including selected utilities. These ACS measures and periods differ from Zillow’s typical value and observed market rent and should not be averaged.
Direct city depth is mixed. Among renters for whom burden is calculated, 44.3% spend at least 30% of income on rent. Among vacant units, 232 were for rent, 48 for sale and 34 seasonal; these ACS vacancy-reason counts neither measure purchasable inventory nor prove fast lease-up. Population was 26,536, up 2.9% between overlapping ACS vintages; the change is not annualized and may reflect boundary changes. Median household income is $48,456, while the poverty rate is 22.9% and the unemployment rate is 10.1%. These are descriptive demand constraints, not proof of tenant performance or causes of market outcomes.
At the county scope, Lebanon County’s median days on market was 47 days, useful for sale pacing but not a city measure. The broader metro showed 1.4% job growth and 1.8 months of supply; metro evidence is backdrop, not city or property performance. The national Freddie Mac mortgage rate was 6.58%, a benchmark rather than a borrower quote. The county, metro and national scopes have different populations, methods and denominators.
Underwriting remains constrained by citywide typicals, survey sampling, mismatched measurement periods and the absence of property-specific expenses or condition. Before making a decision, verify address-level sale and rent comparables, current occupancy, leases and collections, utility responsibility, code and zoning status, title, inspection findings and near-term capital work. Obtain the actual tax bill, insurance quote and lender terms, then test cash flow with explicit vacancy, maintenance, management and replacement reserves. A unit-level rent check is essential because citywide renter share and vacancy do not establish lease-up.