New Braunfels’ current Zillow ZHVI typical home value is $351,340 and its ZORI typical observed monthly market rent is $1,563. Those inputs imply a 5.34% gross yield before every operating and financing cost. ZHVI is down 2.42% year over year, while ZORI is down 2.51%, so neither current series provides recent growth support. The Zillow value equals 4.08x ACS median household income, and annualized ZORI equals 21.81% of that income; these are broad affordability screens, not property cash flow.
The city has 44,517 housing units, with a 7.92% citywide vacancy rate and renters occupying 34.71% of occupied units. This shows rental tenure but cannot show whether a particular unit will lease quickly. ACS surveyed occupied housing reports a $339,400 median home value and $1,654 median gross rent, which includes contract rent plus selected utilities. Those ACS figures differ in sample, definition, and period from Zillow and should not be blended.
Direct city depth is mixed. Households above the supplied rent-burden threshold comprise 51.78% of renters, signaling constrained tenant budgets. Single-family housing is 71.73% of units and large multifamily is 11.76%; these structure shares do not measure available investment inventory. Of vacant units, 26.74% are for rent and 28.59% are seasonal, reason shares that do not equal rental availability. Population rose 31.73% between overlapping ACS vintages, without annualization and subject to boundary effects. Median household income is $86,021, while poverty is 7.41% and unemployment is 4.19%; these are descriptive demand constraints, not causes or lease-up forecasts.
In county context, Comal County’s recorded property-tax rate is 1.13%; this can materially affect expenses but does not establish the city parcel’s bill. In separate county context, Guadalupe County’s rate is 1.43%, reinforcing the need to locate the parcel rather than average county records. The broader San Antonio metro had 5.4 months of supply, indicating wider for-sale competition rather than city inventory. The national Freddie Mac 30-year mortgage rate was 6.58%, a financing benchmark rather than a city borrowing quote.
The limitation is aggregation: city averages cannot identify a property’s condition, use, achievable rent, tenant profile, or exit price. Verify the address and county, parcel tax bill, insurance and flood terms, title, zoning, permits, HOA restrictions, utility responsibility, and rental rules. Obtain property-specific rent comparables, inspection and repair scopes, leasing quotes, concessions, downtime, and financing terms. Build cash flow with maintenance, capital spending, vacancy, and transaction costs rather than treating gross yield as return.