Niagara Falls’ current Zillow ZHVI is $176,530, while Zillow ZORI is $1,212 a month. That pairing implies an 8.2% gross yield, calculated as annual ZORI divided by ZHVI and before every operating cost, financing expense, vacancy loss or capital outlay. The ZHVI equals 3.6x ACS median household income, and annual ZORI equals 29.6% of that income. These are city-level screening measures, not a property cash-flow result or an affordability finding for every household.
The city contains 26,251 housing units, with a 13.4% citywide vacancy rate; renters occupy 41.5% of occupied units. ACS reports a $115,300 median value for occupied owner housing and $823 median gross rent for occupied rentals. ACS gross rent includes contract rent plus selected utilities, whereas Zillow measures a typical home value and typical observed market rent. Because periods, universes and methods differ, the ACS and Zillow values should not be averaged or treated as confirming the same transaction market.
Among rent-paying city households, 58.4% meet the ACS rent-burden threshold. The structure mix is 63.0% single-family and 6.3% large multifamily. ACS classifies 459 units as vacant for rent, 243 for sale and 94 for seasonal use; these survey categories do not measure investable listings. The population estimate is 47,987, down 0.5% between overlapping ACS vintages; the change is not annualized and may reflect boundary changes. Median household income is $49,101, while the poverty rate is 23.7% and the unemployment rate is 9.6%. These are descriptive demand constraints and cannot establish a specific property’s tenant pool, lease-up speed or rent durability.
At the county scope, Niagara County’s estimated property-tax rate is 2.2%; this is county context rather than a city or parcel measure. In the Buffalo, NY metro, jobs grew 0.6% year over year and metro housing supply was 2.6 months; these indicate broader labor and resale conditions, not Niagara Falls outcomes. The national Freddie Mac 30-year mortgage rate is 6.58%, a national financing benchmark rather than a borrower quote.
The main limits are that city aggregates cannot price a parcel, verify achievable rent, identify repairs, set insurance or predict occupancy. Before underwriting, obtain the property’s asking price and rent roll; inspect condition, systems and deferred maintenance; verify taxes, insurance and utility responsibility; review title, zoning and legal-unit status; and test financing, management, maintenance, vacancy and capital-expenditure assumptions. Comparable leases and sales should match the subject’s property type and condition rather than substitute broad city, county or metro averages.