Zillow Ranks Top Places Where Mom-and-Pop Landlords Make the Most Money

SEATTLE, Aug. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Zillow today named the Oklahoma City area the top place where mom-and-pop landlords stand to make the most money on their rental property on a month-to-month basis.  A Zillow Rentals analysisⁱ looked at the top 50 U.S metros to determine which areas provide the best short-term return on investment for landlords. Rental property owners in the Oklahoma City metro area can expect to profit $536 per month on the median home when comparing anticipated rental income versus their assumed monthly mortgage payment.

Mom-and-pop landlords are homeowners who have turned their personal home into a rental rather than selling it when they move.

Zillow has also named the best places for landlords interested in long-term profitsⁱⁱ. When looking at rental income, tax benefits and accumulated home equity (thanks to rapid home value appreciation), landlords in San Jose, California, make the most money: $8,927 per month, or $107,122 per year. The majority of this "profit" is derived from earned but unrealized equity distributed evenly each month over the next six years. Most, if not all, of this profit will not be realized until the landlord sells the property.

"When deciding if they should sell their home or rent it out, most mom-and-pop landlords are primarily concerned with whether or not they can cover their mortgage payment each month – they simply can't absorb monthly losses like professional investors," said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. "However, the greatest returns are actually in markets like San Jose and San Francisco where there are short-term monthly losses, but the long-term earned equity makes them the best markets to invest in."

Nationally, the Zillow Rent Index has increased 2.5 percent since June 2013 and 9.1 percent since June 2011. On a local level, the Zillow Rent Index has gone up as much as two to three times that amount over the past year in rental hotspots such as metro Chicago (+6.3 percent) and San Francisco (+11 percent).

The full list of best places to own a rental property can be found by visiting Zillow Real Estate Research.

Top 10 Markets for Short-term Financial Gain (difference between rent and mortgage payment on the median home, accounting for property and income taxes, maintenance and vacancy)

Top 10 Markets for Long-term Financial Gain (includes home equity gains, tax benefits, and the difference between monthly rental income and mortgage payments after holding onto the property for six years on the median home. Also accounting for property/income taxes, maintenance and vacancy)

About Zillow, Inc.

Zillow, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z) operates the largest home-related marketplaces on mobile and the Web, with a complementary portfolio of brands and products that help people find vital information about homes, and connect with the best local professionals. In addition, Zillow operates an industry-leading economics and analytics bureau led by Zillow's Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. Dr. Humphries and his team of economists and data analysts produce extensive housing data and research covering more than 450 markets at Zillow Real Estate Research. Zillow also sponsors the quarterly Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, which asks more than 100 leading economists, real estate experts and investment and market strategists to predict the path of the Zillow Home Value Index over the next five years. Zillow also sponsors the bi-annual Zillow Housing Confidence Index (ZHCI) which measures consumer confidence in local housing markets, both currently and over time. The Zillow, Inc. portfolio includes Zillow.com®, Zillow Mobile, Zillow Mortgage , Zillow Rentals, Zillow Digs®, Postlets®, Diverse Solutions®, Agentfolio®, Mortech®, HotPads™, StreetEasy® and Retsly™. The company is headquartered in Seattle.

Zillow.com, Zillow, Postlets, Mortech, Diverse Solutions, StreetEasy, Agentfolio and Digs are registered trademarks of Zillow, Inc. HotPads and Retsly are trademarks of Zillow, Inc.

ⁱ For short-term financial gain, Zillow identified the top places where landlords make the most money on their rental property based on several assumptions including that the median valued property was purchased five years ago in May 2009, with a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, a 20 percent down payment, and an interest rate of 4.5 percent, roughly the rate that prevailed at the time. For tax purposes we assume that the homeowner is married with a gross annual income equal to the metro-area median and that the property is vacant at a rate equal to the metro-area average vacancy rate. Finally, we assess the net profit excluding equity earned if the homeowner rents out the property for an additional seven years during which home values and rents increase at their historic rates.

ⁱⁱ For long-term financial gain Zillow identified the top places where landlords make the most money on their rental property based on several assumptions including that the median valued property was purchased five years ago in May 2009, with a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, a 20 percent down payment, and an interest rate of 4.5 percent, roughly the rate that prevailed at the time. For tax purposes we assume that the homeowner is married with a gross annual income equal to the metro-area median and that the property is vacant at a rate equal to the metro-area average vacancy rate. Finally, we assess the net profit and accumulated home equity if the homeowner rents out the property for an additional seven years during which home values and rents increase at their historic rates.

SOURCE Zillow, Inc.