Wauwatosa’s current Zillow ZHVI, a typical city home value, is $435,497, and its Zillow ZORI, a typical observed market rent, is $1,722 monthly. The resulting gross yield is 4.7% before every operating cost. The home-value-to-income multiple is 4.3x and annual ZORI equals 20.4% of median household income. These are citywide market-entry and income comparisons, not a borrower-specific payment or a net return. They do not include property taxes, insurance, maintenance, vacancy, management, or debt service.
ACS reports 23,528 city housing units, a 5.5% vacancy rate, and a 39.2% renter share among occupied units. Its $1,438 median gross rent includes contract rent plus selected utilities, and its $339,000 median home value reflects surveyed occupied housing. Both are ACS survey measures for occupied housing, not Zillow measures. Those ACS measures differ in population and timing from Zillow’s typical city value and observed market rent; they must not be averaged or treated as interchangeable.
Among city renter households, 43.1% devote at least 30% of income to gross rent. Of all city housing stock, 58.0% is single-family and 20.3% is large multifamily. Of city vacancies, ACS classifies 38.3% as for rent and 18.5% as seasonal. City population changed 1.2% between overlapping ACS five-year vintages; that comparison is not annualized and may reflect boundary differences. Median household income is $101,138, the poverty rate is 5.8%, and unemployment is 2.1%. These citywide survey facts describe broad conditions but cannot establish an individual property’s condition, available investment inventory, tenant demand, or leasing speed.
At the county level, Milwaukee County’s property-tax rate is 1.9%, an underwriting input distinct from a Wauwatosa city measure. In the Milwaukee, WI metro, supply was 2.1 months and metro employment fell 0.9% year over year; neither metro measure captures city transactions or city employment. The national Freddie Mac 30-year mortgage rate is 6.7%, a national financing benchmark rather than a local loan quote.
The main limitations are the absence of a building-level operating statement, address-specific valuation, property condition, and actual financing terms. Before underwriting, obtain the tax bill, insurance quote, utility responsibilities, HOA obligations, repair and capital needs, rent roll, lease expirations, concessions, turnover, and vacancy history. Check legal unit count, zoning, permits, code compliance, flood and hazard insurance exposure, and comparable asking and executed rents for the specific property. Review inspection findings and seller disclosures alongside records for any deferred work or unresolved compliance issues.