Mission’s decision frame starts with a Zillow typical city home value of $221,111 and typical observed market rent of $1,341 per month. Their direct relationship produces a 7.3% gross yield before every operating cost and financing. The typical value is 3.6x ACS median household income, while annual Zillow rent is 26.5% of that income. These are screening ratios, not a property’s achievable return or a household-specific affordability test.
The city has 33,423 housing units, with a 13.6% citywide vacancy rate and renters occupying 28.6% of occupied units. Single-family units account for 70.0% of the stock, shaping the broad form of potential rental supply without identifying listings. ACS reports a $175,700 owner-reported median home value and $950 median gross rent for surveyed occupied housing; gross rent includes contract rent and selected utilities. These ACS measures differ in definition, sample and period from Zillow ZHVI and ZORI, so their gaps should not be treated as price or rent growth.
Among city renters, 44.9% are rent burdened, while large multifamily structures are 2.6% of all units. ACS vacancy reasons show 2,410 seasonal vacancies versus 685 units vacant for rent, but these survey categories do not equal currently investable inventory. The city population is 87,038, a 4.2% change between overlapping ACS five-year vintages; it is not annualized and may reflect boundary changes. Median household income is $60,767, while city unemployment is 7.8% and poverty is 19.4%. These are descriptive demand constraints, not causes, and none predicts a particular home’s lease-up.
Hidalgo County context reports a 1.62% property-tax rate and a county median marketing time of 79 days; neither is a city or parcel measure. The broader McAllen metro had 9.1 months of supply, while metro employment grew 1.1% year over year; neither figure isolates Mission. The national Freddie Mac 30-year mortgage rate was 6.58%, a national financing benchmark rather than a Mission borrowing quote.
The main limitation is that city and wider-area aggregates cannot establish a specific property’s rent, expenses, condition, insurability or liquidity. Underwrite address-level rent comparables, expected downtime, tenant-paid utilities, repairs, reserves, management and legal occupancy. Verify the parcel’s tax bill, insurance and flood or climate exposure, then inspect major systems and any association obligations. Finally, obtain financing terms for the borrower and stress cash flow rather than relying on the headline gross yield.