Medford’s current Zillow measures put the typical city home value at $412,749 and typical observed market rent at $1,721 monthly. Their implied gross yield is 5.0%, before every operating cost, financing, vacancy and capital work. The Zillow value equals 5.6x ACS median household income, while annual Zillow rent equals 28.2% of that income. These citywide benchmarks provide a top-line affordability and income screen; they do not establish the economics of any property or tenant.
Medford contains 36,630 housing units, with renters occupying 43.7% of occupied units. ACS reports a $417,100 median value for surveyed owner-occupied homes and $1,376 median gross rent for occupied rentals, including selected utilities. Those ACS medians describe surveyed occupied housing and differ in concept and period from Zillow’s typical city value and observed market rent; they should not be averaged or treated as matching transaction and lease quotes.
Within the city, 57.0% of renters are rent-burdened. Single-family homes comprise 68.3% of units and large multifamily buildings 8.9%. Of 1,817 vacant units, ACS classifies 730 as for rent, 141 for sale and 181 as seasonal. Population was 6.4% higher between the overlapping ACS vintages, but that is not an annual rate and may reflect boundary changes. Median household income is $73,230; poverty is 13.2% and unemployment 5.3%. These survey facts describe citywide demand and stock, not leasable investment inventory or lease-up speed.
Jackson County listings had a 60-day median market time, and 17.5% had price reductions; this county evidence indicates that some county listings required repricing but does not measure Medford alone. The broader Medford metro had 3.2 months of supply, while metro jobs increased 0.1% over the reported period, pairing some resale availability with nearly flat employment growth. The national Freddie Mac 30-year mortgage rate was 6.58%, a financing benchmark rather than a city borrowing quote.
Underwriting remains limited by citywide aggregates, overlapping ACS vintages, and mismatched Zillow and ACS concepts; gross yield omits taxes, insurance, maintenance, management, utilities, turnover, vacancy and financing. Next, verify the target property’s asking price, achievable contract rent, utility responsibility, current occupancy, lease terms, condition, deferred maintenance and capital needs. Obtain a property-specific tax bill, insurance and hazard quotes, financing terms, title and zoning review, and comparable sales and leases before calculating net operating income and cash flow.