Zillow places Lewiston’s typical home value at $305,711 and typical observed market rent at $1,480 monthly. That pairing implies a 5.8% gross yield before vacancy, management, maintenance, insurance, property taxes, utilities, financing and capital work. As cross-source affordability screens, the Zillow value equals 5.5x ACS median household income, while annual Zillow rent equals 32.1% of that income. These citywide benchmarks frame affordability and revenue, but they do not establish the economics of any specific property.
Lewiston has 17,105 housing units, with a citywide vacancy rate of 5.9%; renters occupy 48.8% of occupied units. Median year built is 1957, not a property-condition assessment. ACS reports a $235,100 median value for surveyed owner-occupied housing and $986 median gross rent, which includes contract rent plus selected utilities. Those ACS measures describe occupied housing and differ in definition and period from Zillow’s typical value and observed market rent, so they should not be averaged or treated as directly comparable.
Among city renters, 51.7% have gross rent at or above 30% of income. Single-family homes make up 44.8% of all units, versus 6.0% in large multifamily structures. Of vacant units, 12.8% are listed for rent; the remainder spans for-sale, seasonal and other ACS reasons. Population increased 6.2% between two overlapping ACS five-year vintages; this is not annualized and may reflect boundary changes. City median household income is $55,393, while the city poverty rate is 20.0% and unemployment is 4.8%. These descriptive citywide facts cannot identify available investment inventory, prove lease-up speed or establish causation.
In Androscoggin County, county listings had a median 24 days on market and a 22.9% price-reduced share, providing negotiation context but not city measures. The Lewiston metro had 2.3 months of supply, while metro jobs grew 0.3% over the stated trailing period; these provide broader transaction and labor context without measuring city inventory or demand. The national Freddie Mac 30-year mortgage rate was 6.66%, a financing benchmark rather than a Lewiston borrowing quote. County listing, metro supply and national financing denominators should not be blended with city measures.
Underwriting is limited by citywide medians and typicals, survey uncertainty, overlapping ACS vintages, possible boundary changes, and the absence of property condition, exact lease terms and expense detail. Next, verify address-level price, legal use and unit count; inspect structure and deferred maintenance; obtain leases, collections and utility responsibilities; quote taxes, insurance and financing; and model vacancy, repairs, management and capital reserves. Confirm comparable rents and sales before relying on the headline yield.