Tampa’s Zillow ZHVI is $380,283, and ZORI is $1,999 monthly. Their direct ratio gives a 6.3% gross yield before every operating and financing cost. ZHVI fell 2.1% year over year and ZORI fell 1.1%, showing recent softness rather than forecasting further declines. The home value is 5.0x city median household income, while annual ZORI is 31.8% of that income. Together, these typical city measures frame affordability and a pre-cost income ratio, not property-level returns.
Tampa has 182,425 housing units; 49.7% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and the vacancy rate is 8.9%. This shows rental tenure depth, not property-specific demand. ACS occupied-housing surveys report a $420,400 median home value and $1,701 median gross rent. These differ in concept and period from Zillow: ACS gross rent includes contract rent plus selected utilities; ZORI is observed market rent and ZHVI is a typical home value. Do not combine them.
City ACS depth adds stress and stock context: 57.4% of renter households are rent-burdened, single-family homes are 57.0% of all units, and units in large multifamily buildings are 21.4%. Among vacant units, 31.8% are classified for rent; for-sale and seasonal classifications make total vacancy different from leasable inventory. Population rose 3.5% between overlapping ACS five-year vintages, a comparison that may reflect boundary changes and must not be annualized. Median household income is $75,475, poverty is 15.5%, and unemployment is 4.9%. These citywide facts cannot establish tenant quality, achievable property rent, absorption speed or unit condition.
In Hillsborough County, Realtor context shows a median 63 days on market and price reductions on 26.9% of active listings, suggesting room to test seller expectations at the county—not city—scope. In the broader Tampa metro, supply is 3.6 months, the price-drop share is 38.6%, and payroll jobs grew 0.1% year over year; these metro measures show buyer choice alongside nearly flat employment growth. Nationally, the Freddie Mac rate for a thirty-year mortgage is 6.58%, framing financing pressure but not a Tampa or borrower-specific quote.
The main underwriting limitation is the gap between broad measures and an asset’s cash flow. Before acting, obtain address-specific sale and lease comparables, concessions, inspection and repair scope, title and zoning review, plus rental or association restrictions. Rebuild net operating income from verified rent, utilities, post-transfer taxes, insurance and hazard terms, association charges, maintenance, management, turnover and vacancy. Size debt from an actual lender quote, then stress lower rent, longer downtime and higher recurring costs.