Rome’s current Zillow ZHVI, a typical city home value, is $236,259, while Zillow ZORI, a typical observed monthly market rent, is $1,303. Their implied gross yield is 6.6% before taxes, insurance, maintenance, management, financing, or vacancy. At 4.34x median household income, the value-to-income relationship is a screening affordability measure; annual ZORI equals 28.7% of that income.
At the city level, ACS counts 16,566 housing units, with a 9.6% vacancy rate; renters hold 50.8% of occupied units. Single-family units comprise 66.7% of the stock and large multifamily units 10.0%, with a 1974 median build year. ACS places median home value at $234,300 and median gross rent at $1,032. Those surveyed occupied-housing measures are neither the same period nor definition as Zillow’s typical value and observed market rent; ACS gross rent includes contract rent and selected utilities, so the series should not be averaged.
City rental-demand context has limits. The city rent-burden share is 52.2%. ACS identifies 551 vacant units for rent and 138 vacant units for sale; the renter share, vacancy reasons, and single-family-heavy stock mix do not establish available investment inventory or lease-up speed. Population was 38,189, up 5.1% between overlapping ACS five-year vintages; this comparison should not be annualized and may reflect boundary changes. Median household income was $54,435, while poverty was 20.6% and unemployment 5.9%. These citywide descriptive demand constraints do not prove why a particular home will rent or how a tenant will perform.
In Floyd County, the county property-tax rate is 0.848%, but parcel tax bills and assessments can differ; it is county context, not a Rome tax bill. The broader Rome metro has 4.2 months of supply, a metro sale-market gauge rather than a city inventory count. The national 30-year mortgage rate is 6.7%, national financing context that should not be treated as a buyer’s individualized rate.
Gross yield is not net yield, and citywide ACS measures do not price a building, lease, or tenant. Underwrite a specific address with current achievable-rent comparables, signed-lease terms, utilities and concessions; verify property-tax assessment, insurance and hazard costs, condition, repair scope, HOA or local fees, zoning, title, and permits. Test vacancy, management, and capital-reserve assumptions against the property’s actual operating history. Confirm financing terms and borrower qualification rather than relying on the national rate.