Sumter's current Zillow ZHVI, a typical city home value, is $216,975, and Zillow ZORI, a typical observed market rent, is $1,530 per month. Their formulaic pre-cost gross yield is 8.5% (ZORI times 12 divided by ZHVI). At 3.9x price-to-income and 33.0% rent-to-income, city income is the reference point for price and annual market rent; the latter is not a household payment or an affordability approval.
The city has 18,739 housing units, with renters occupying 42.8% of occupied units and a 14.2% citywide vacancy rate. ACS reports a $1,076 median gross rent, including contract rent and selected utilities, and a median owner-reported home value; these are surveyed occupied-housing measures. Those ACS measures differ in universe and period from the current Zillow measures above, so they should not be averaged or substituted for ZHVI or ZORI.
Direct city depth is mixed. Among renters, 56.2% pay at least 30% of income toward rent. Housing stock is 70.1% single-family and 5.0% large multifamily. Of vacant units, 10.8% are designated for rent; the other ACS vacancy reasons include sale and seasonal use, so these shares do not identify available investment inventory or likely lease speed. Population was 43,053, up 8.2% between overlapping ACS five-year vintages; this is not an annualized event count and may reflect boundary differences. Median household income is $55,592, while unemployment is 6.6% and poverty is 16.7%. These are descriptive demand constraints, not causal evidence of tenant demand.
In Sumter County, county-level Realtor data show 55 median days on market, a listing-market reference that is not a city measure. The broader Sumter metro had 3.3 months of supply, offering metro-level competition context rather than city inventory. The national Freddie Mac 30-year mortgage rate was 6.7%, a national financing benchmark rather than a borrower’s quoted rate.
Main underwriting gaps remain property-specific: confirm actual achievable rent with comparable leases, concessions, turnover, and days vacant; inspect condition, age-related repairs, utilities, and capital needs; and obtain parcel-level taxes, insurance, flood or other hazard exposure, association obligations, and management costs. Recalculate cash flow after those expenses, financing terms, and reserves because the city gross yield excludes every operating cost. Check title, zoning, permits, tenant rules, and deferred maintenance before relying on citywide survey or index measures.