Owensboro’s Zillow ZHVI typical home value is $216,394, up 2.6%, while Zillow ZORI typical observed monthly market rent is $1,121, up 5.0%. Those city measures imply a 6.2% gross yield before every operating cost. ZHVI is 3.8x the ACS median household income, and annual ZORI equals 23.9% of that income. These are broad affordability screens, not evidence that a specific household qualifies or that a property will achieve the typical rent.
Owensboro has 27,274 housing units; the citywide vacancy rate is 6.7%, and renters occupy 42.6% of occupied units. Single-family structures represent 71.8% of all units, versus 5.0% in large multifamily buildings. ACS surveyed occupied housing reports a $905 median gross rent, including contract rent and selected utilities, and a $178,900 owner-reported median home value. Those ACS medians are not interchangeable with Zillow’s typical-value and observed-market-rent series because the measures and periods differ.
City ACS context shows rent burden for 43.6% of renter households, signaling limited budget headroom for many tenants. Among vacancies, 558 units were classified for rent; for-sale, seasonal and other reasons also exist, so vacancy-reason shares do not equal available investment inventory. Population was 60,302, a 1.3% change from 59,536 across overlapping ACS five-year vintages; it is neither an annual rate nor a five-year event count and may reflect boundary changes. Median household income is $56,357, while poverty is 18.9% and unemployment is 5.3%; these are descriptive demand constraints, not causal findings or property-specific tenant evidence.
At the county scope, Daviess County listings had a median market time of 39 days, which frames resale liquidity but does not measure Owensboro alone. At the metro scope, the Owensboro metro had 0.1% job growth and 1.7 months of supply; both describe the broader metro, not city demand or a particular asset. At the national scope, the mortgage rate was 6.66%, a financing benchmark rather than a quote for any borrower.
Underwriting should treat the gross yield as a starting screen: it excludes taxes, insurance, repairs, capital work, management, utilities, vacancy, financing and transaction costs. Citywide vacancy and renter share cannot establish lease-up speed, and ACS structure or burden shares cannot identify purchasable stock. Before acting, verify the property’s purchase price, achievable unit rent, utility responsibility, current taxes, insurance and climate exposure, inspection-based repairs, title and zoning, financing terms, management plan and local rent comparables.