Morristown’s current Zillow ZHVI, a typical city home value, is $273,724, while Zillow ZORI, a typical observed market rent, is $1,502 monthly. Their 6.6% gross yield is annualized ZORI divided by ZHVI before every operating cost. Affordability is tight on these cross-measure comparisons: ZHVI is 5.7x city median household income, and annual ZORI is 37.6% of that income. These are screening ratios, not a property cash-flow result.
Citywide, renters occupy 45.1% of occupied homes and 9.4% of housing units are vacant, useful stock context but not a lease-up forecast. ACS reports a $181,100 median home value and $882 median gross rent in surveyed occupied housing; gross rent includes contract rent and selected utilities. These ACS measures have a different population and measurement basis from Zillow’s typical value and observed market rent, so they should neither be equated nor averaged.
City housing stock is 64.3% single-family and 4.4% large multifamily. Among renter households, 44.9% pay at least 30% of income toward rent. Of city vacant units, 41.8% are classified for rent, while ACS separately reports for-sale and seasonal categories. Survey vacancy reasons are housing-stock context, not a count of investable inventory or proof that a particular unit will lease. City population is 31,527, 5.9% above baseline across overlapping ACS vintages; this comparison is not annualized and may be affected by boundary changes. Median household income is $47,917, poverty is 26.0%, and unemployment is 7.1%. These latter measures describe demand constraints; they do not establish a cause of rent performance.
In Hamblen County, Realtor reports a 60-day county median time on market and 24.3% of active county listings with price reductions; in Jefferson County, the corresponding county measures are 63 days and 27.4%. The broader Morristown metro recorded a 1.1% job decline, a metro labor signal rather than city employment evidence. The national 30-year mortgage rate was 6.7%, a financing benchmark rather than a Morristown borrower quote.
Main underwriting limits are that gross yield omits property costs, citywide survey measures do not identify a purchasable unit, and county and metro signals use different geographies and denominators. Before underwriting, verify parcel county and taxing jurisdiction, asking rent and executed-rent comparables, unit condition and age, insurance and hazard quotes, utilities paid by owner, lease terms, vacancy and turnover history, repair scope, and loan terms. Confirm zoning, permits, title, and any homeowner-association obligations where relevant.