Zillow’s current city ZHVI is $538,646, while its city ZORI is $2,013 per month. Their stated relationship produces a 4.5% gross yield before operating costs. The ZHVI equals 6.6x the city’s median household income, and annual ZORI equals 29.7% of that income. These measures provide an affordability frame, but the yield is a gross screen rather than property-level cash flow.
City housing stock totals 26,795 units, with a 5.0% citywide vacancy rate. Renters occupy 50.2% of occupied city units, making tenure close to evenly split. ACS reports a $1,599 median gross rent—contract rent plus selected utilities—and a $486,200 owner-reported median home value; both describe surveyed occupied housing. These ACS measures are neither the same measure nor period as Zillow’s city ZORI and ZHVI, so they should be compared for context rather than blended or averaged.
Among city renters, 59.6% report paying at least 30% of income toward rent. The city stock is 57.7% single-family and 17.1% large multifamily; 41.2% of vacant city units are categorized as for rent. The reported city population increase is 8.6% between overlapping ACS vintages; this comparison is not annualized and may reflect boundary changes. City median household income is $81,302, while city poverty is 14.0% and city unemployment is 7.3%; these are descriptive demand constraints, not causal explanations. These citywide surveys cannot show available investment inventory, unit condition, or whether a particular rental will lease quickly.
In Thurston County, the county property-tax rate is 0.876%, an expense input that must be verified at parcel level. In Thurston County, county Realtor data show 22.8% of active listings had price reductions, a county market condition rather than an Olympia measure. The broader Olympia, WA metro reports 2.8 months of supply and 35.9% price drops; these metro measures do not identify city inventory or a property’s bargaining position. The national 30-year mortgage rate is 6.7%, a national financing benchmark rather than an individual loan quote.
The main limitations are that Zillow’s gross yield omits property taxes, insurance, repairs, management, vacancy loss, utilities, financing and capital needs, while ACS survey context is not a listing database. Before underwriting any address, obtain parcel tax bills and assessments, insurance and hazard quotes, inspection findings and age of major systems, lease and utility responsibility, comparable achieved rents, days vacant, local rules, and a lender-specific payment and reserve estimate. Confirm the unit’s occupancy, condition and operating statements rather than extrapolating citywide or wider-context indicators.