Marietta’s Zillow ZHVI indicates a typical city home value of $480,648, while Zillow ZORI indicates typical observed market rent of $1,717 per month. Their implied gross yield is 4.3%, before taxes, insurance, maintenance, management, vacancy, utilities, financing and capital spending. The home value equals 6.6x ACS median household income, and annual ZORI equals 28.3% of that income. All operating and financing costs still sit below that gross yield.
The ACS describes 26,783 city housing units, with a citywide vacancy rate of 7.8% and renters occupying 52.8% of occupied units. Its surveyed median owner-reported home value is $448,500 and median gross rent is $1,586, with gross rent including contract rent plus selected utilities. Those ACS occupied-housing measures differ in concept and period from Zillow’s current typical value and observed market rent; they should not be averaged or used as property comps.
ACS reports a 59.0% city rent-burden share. Single-family homes make up 55.3% of city housing units, while large multifamily units account for 16.6%. Among vacant units, 35.3% were classified as for rent, but that survey share is not live availability. Population increased 2.8% between overlapping ACS five-year vintages; this is not annualized and may reflect boundary changes. Median household income is $72,725, with poverty at 12.8% and unemployment at 3.8%. These are descriptive demand constraints, not causal evidence; they do not show whether a specific rental will lease quickly or measure investable inventory.
In Cobb County, Realtor context shows a 44-day median market time and a 24.1% price-reduced share, while the Cobb County property-tax rate is 0.668%; these county measures do not describe a specific Marietta asset. In the broader Atlanta metro, sale-to-list was 98.4%, months’ supply was 3.7, and jobs rose 0.2% over the supplied annual comparison; these metro denominators do not measure Marietta alone. At the national scope, Freddie Mac’s 30-year mortgage rate was 6.58%, a national financing benchmark rather than a local borrower quote.
Underwriting should not treat Zillow or ACS values as a parcel appraisal, or citywide rent, tenure and vacancy as proof of subject demand. For any candidate, verify purchase basis, unit-specific achievable rent, concessions and comparable leases; inspect structure, systems and deferred maintenance; obtain actual tax, insurance, association, utility and management costs; and review leases, payment history, title, zoning, permits and parcel-level hazards. Then recalculate net operating income and cash flow using explicit vacancy, turnover, repair, financing and reserve assumptions.