San Diego’s current Zillow ZHVI typical home value is $1,002,065, while Zillow ZORI typical observed monthly market rent is $3,038. Their paired gross yield is 3.64% before vacancy, management, maintenance, insurance, property tax, financing and capital work, so it is a screening measure rather than a return estimate. Against the city ACS median household income of $108,077, ZHVI equals 9.27x income and annual ZORI equals 33.73% of income; those citywide comparisons frame affordability but do not describe any household or property.
The city ACS reports 568,668 housing units, a 6.73% citywide vacancy rate and a 52.66% renter share of occupied units. Its surveyed occupied-housing measures show a $906,700 median home value and $2,313 median gross rent, with gross rent including contract rent plus selected utilities. These ACS medians cover different housing concepts and periods from Zillow’s typical value and observed market rent, so they should not be averaged or treated as matching deal inputs.
Direct city context shows 54.68% of renters at or above the rent-burden threshold, while single-family homes comprise 53.00% of units and large multifamily buildings 21.30%. Among vacant units, 32.94% are classified as for rent; that survey reason does not measure currently available investment inventory or leasing speed. The city population estimate is 1,389,526, down 1.42% between overlapping ACS vintages, a comparison that is not annualized and may be affected by boundary changes. The same city survey reports 11.01% poverty and 5.96% unemployment. Alongside the income benchmark, these are descriptive demand constraints, not causes or property performance evidence.
In San Diego County, Realtor context shows a 43-day median market time, 5,739 active listings and price reductions on 17.94% of listings; these county measures do not establish city liquidity. In the broader San Diego metro, months of supply is 2.6 and payroll jobs increased 0.26% over the reported interval, offering separate resale and labor context rather than city readings. Nationally, Freddie Mac’s 30-year mortgage rate is 6.58%, a financing benchmark rather than a local borrowing quote.
City averages cannot reveal a property’s achievable rent, condition, legal use, expenses or resale depth. Verify current and market leases, concessions, occupancy history and utility responsibility; inspect major systems and deferred maintenance; and obtain address-specific tax, insurance, hazard, association and management costs. Price financing for the borrower and asset, check applicable rental and tenant rules, and use genuinely comparable recent leases and sales. A cash-flow model should include vacancy, turnover, repairs, reserves and exit costs, not substitute the city gross yield.