Peoria’s Zillow ZHVI typical city home value is $137,410, while Zillow ZORI typical observed monthly market rent is $1,236. That pairing implies a 10.8% gross yield before operating costs, financing, vacancy, maintenance, management and taxes. ZHVI equals 2.31x ACS median household income, and annual ZORI equals 25.0% of that income. City ZHVI rose 6.3% and ZORI rose 3.4% year over year, but these aggregates are not a property-level return projection.
ACS reports 54,010 city housing units, with 9.2% vacant and renters occupying 42.5% of occupied units. This describes broad stock and tenure, not the units available to buy or rent now. ACS surveyed occupied housing puts the median owner-reported home value at $156,200 and median monthly gross rent at $1,005, with gross rent including selected utilities. Those ACS measures differ in concept and period from Zillow’s typical value and observed market rent, so combining or averaging them would misstate affordability and yield.
Direct city evidence shows 50.0% of renter households spend at least 30% of income on rent. Single-family structures comprise 68.0% of housing units, while large multifamily structures comprise 11.1%; this mix does not identify purchasable inventory. Among vacant units, 33.2% are for rent, but ACS vacancy reasons do not predict a subject property’s lease-up. Population declined 1.2% between overlapping ACS vintages, a nonannualized comparison potentially affected by boundary changes. City median household income is $59,410, with a 21.0% poverty rate and 7.5% unemployment rate; these are descriptive demand constraints rather than proof of rent causation.
The county context for Peoria County reports a 2.241% property-tax rate and a 40-day median listing time, useful expense and liquidity reference points that do not measure city properties uniformly. The Peoria, IL metro recorded employment down 0.16% year over year and 1.5 months of supply; these metro indicators support testing tenant-demand and resale assumptions without treating them as city results. The national Freddie Mac mortgage rate is 6.58%, a financing benchmark rather than a quote for a Peoria loan.
The central limitation is aggregation: Zillow, ACS, county, metro and national data use different geographies, concepts and periods. Before underwriting, obtain the subject’s purchase price, achievable rent and concessions; inspect condition, age, utilities and deferred maintenance; verify taxes, insurance and flood or climate exposure; price financing and management; check comparable leases and sales; and model realistic vacancy, turnover, repairs and capital reserves. Title, zoning, occupancy rules and permit history also require property-level review.