South Bend’s current Zillow ZHVI typical city home value is $202,069, while ZORI typical observed city market rent is $1,310 monthly. Together they imply a 7.8% gross yield before vacancy and every operating cost, not a cap rate. The home value equals 3.62x ACS median household income, and annual ZORI equals 28.2% of that income. These screens frame the city price-rent relationship but cannot establish household affordability, property rent or financed returns.
The ACS city inventory contains 47,775 housing units, with a 13.6% citywide vacancy rate; renters occupy 39.8% of occupied units. These citywide conditions do not show whether a specific unit will lease quickly. ACS reports a $140,400 median value for surveyed owner-occupied housing and $1,033 median gross rent for surveyed occupied rentals, with gross rent including selected utilities. Those ACS measures differ in definition and period from Zillow’s typical home value and observed market rent, so they should not be averaged or treated as direct comparables.
Rent burden affects 50.3% of renter households; single-family homes are 74.9% of housing units and large multifamily buildings 7.7%. These ACS shares do not measure available investment inventory. Among vacant units, 19.0% are for rent and 674 are seasonal; these reason categories do not identify immediately available properties. Population increased 1.0% between overlapping ACS vintages, a nonannualized comparison that may also reflect boundary changes. Median household income is $55,786, while poverty is 20.8% and unemployment 6.5%; these are descriptive demand constraints, not causes or property-level tenant outcomes.
Saint Joseph County context reports a county median of 38 days on market and a county price-reduced share of 18.8%. These county figures can frame negotiation, not city transaction performance. The broader South Bend metro recorded a 0.7% job decline and 2.1 months of supply; these metro measures do not resolve city demand. The national Freddie Mac 30-year mortgage rate is 6.58%, a financing benchmark rather than South Bend borrowing terms or a city market measure.
The main limitation is denominator mismatch: Zillow, ACS, county listings, metro labor and supply, and national financing answer different questions. Citywide statistics cannot establish achievable rent, renewal probability, expenses or resale liquidity for one address. Before underwriting, obtain the lease and payment history; inspect systems and deferred maintenance; confirm unit legality, title and permits; quote taxes, insurance and hazard coverage; assign utilities; estimate management, repairs, turnover and reserves; and price borrower-specific financing. Compare verified property cash flow with the gross-yield screen, not contextual averages.