For Raleigh’s decision frame, the supplied Zillow measures put the typical city home value at $436,056 and typical observed monthly market rent at $1,579. Their gross yield is 4.35% before operating costs, financing and vacancy. The home value equals 5.11x ACS median household income, while annualized Zillow rent equals 22.19% of that income. These citywide benchmarks inform pricing and affordability, but they do not establish a property’s attainable rent or net return.
Raleigh has 224,853 housing units; the citywide vacancy rate is 9.52%, and renters occupy 49.25% of occupied units. ACS reports a $415,800 median value for surveyed owner-occupied housing and $1,572 median gross rent for surveyed renter-occupied housing. Gross rent includes contract rent plus selected utilities. Those ACS measures differ from Zillow in concept and period, so they are separate lenses and should not be averaged.
Direct city context shows 52.05% of renters are cost-burdened, while single-family structures represent 58.08% of all units and large multifamily structures 17.63%. Among vacant units, 45.89% are classified as for rent; this vacancy-reason share is not available rental inventory or proof that a specific unit will lease quickly. Population rose 3.56% between overlapping ACS vintages, a comparison that is not annualized and may reflect boundary changes. Median household income is $85,395, with an 11.89% poverty rate and 4.40% unemployment rate. These figures describe demand constraints, not causes of property performance.
Durham County context records a median 52 days on market and a 25.28% price-reduced share; neither measures Raleigh alone. Wake County context separately records 48 days and a 22.98% price-reduced share; it must not be treated as a city result or combined with Durham County. The broader Raleigh metro shows 2.15% job growth and 3 months of supply, providing labor and resale context rather than city-specific outcomes. The national Freddie Mac 30-year mortgage rate is 6.58%, a financing backdrop rather than a Raleigh borrowing quote.
The underwriting gap is the distance from citywide measures to an asset’s cash flow. Verify purchase price, legal use, condition, achievable rent, lease terms, utility responsibility and realistic downtime. Obtain property-specific taxes, insurance, flood and hazard information, HOA obligations, management charges, maintenance history and near-term capital needs. Model financing and transaction costs, then test net cash flow under weaker rent and longer vacancy assumptions. City vacancy, structure and burden shares cannot replace comparable leases, inspection, title and zoning review.