Springfield’s Zillow measures put the typical city home value at $194,244 and observed market rent at $1,294 monthly. That implies an 8.0% gross yield, annualized ZORI divided by ZHVI, before vacancy, repairs, management, insurance, taxes, financing and capital work. The Zillow value is 4.1x ACS median household income and annual rent is 32.9% of income; these are affordability screens, not a tenant budget or property cash flow.
The city has 27,758 housing units; 11.2% are vacant, and renters occupy 47.6% of occupied units. This is substantial renter tenure, but citywide vacancy cannot establish whether a target unit will lease quickly. ACS reports a $116,800 median value for occupied owner housing and $851 median gross rent, including selected utilities. These surveyed measures differ in concept and period from Zillow’s typical value and observed market rent, so they should not be averaged.
Direct city depth shows 45.9% of renter households are cost-burdened. Single-family units are 73.8% of housing versus 7.3% in large multifamily structures; these ACS shares do not measure purchasable inventory. Units vacant for rent are 9.4% of vacant housing, a reason share rather than an availability rate. Population decreased 1.6% between overlapping ACS five-year vintages; this is not annualized and may reflect boundary changes. Median household income is $47,143, while poverty is 23.1% and unemployment 9.4%; these describe demand constraints but cannot establish cause or predict tenant performance.
Clark County county context reports a 1.19% property-tax rate, median 37 days on market and a 17.5% price-reduced share; the county tax rate is not a parcel bill, and county marketing conditions do not measure Springfield alone. The Springfield, OH metro has 2 months of supply, a 32.9% price-drop share and employment down 1.7% year over year; metro liquidity and labor conditions may affect underwriting, but their denominators are not city measures. The national Freddie Mac 30-year mortgage rate is 6.58%, a financing benchmark rather than Springfield borrowing terms.
All figures are aggregates: none supplies a property’s condition, achievable rent, lease-up time, expenses, tax bill, insurance quote, title status or financing terms. Verify comparable leases and sales for the exact property, inspect major systems and deferred maintenance, reconcile legal unit count and occupancy, obtain tax and insurance estimates, and model vacancy, concessions, management, utilities, repairs and reserves. Stress-test debt service with a lender quote; gross yield is only a first-pass screen.