Price History
Median Home Price
Median Rent
Stored observations from 2016-07-31 to 2026-06-29. Source: Zillow ZHVI/ZORI. Missing rents are shown as gaps.
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Purchase
Monthly Cash Flow
* Based on metro-wide median values. 35% expenses include taxes, insurance, maintenance, vacancy, and property management. Individual counties and properties vary significantly.
Score Breakdown
Based on 5.41% rent-to-price ratio. Higher ratios indicate stronger cash flow potential.
Based on 5.0% YoY price growth. Moderate growth (3-8%) scores highest.
Based on 0.0% population growth. Growing areas indicate economic stability.
Based on price relative to estimated local incomes.
Scores are calculated using real Zillow metro-level home value and rent data, Census population data, and economic indicators. The weighted average produces the overall investment score. This metro score represents area-wide averages; individual counties may vary significantly.
Investment Outlook
Strengths
- +Strong price appreciation (+5.0% YoY)
- +Low unemployment (0.0%)
Challenges
- -Negative cash flow at typical financing (-$832/mo)
- -Negative leverage (cap rate 3.5% < mortgage rate 6.9%)
Counties in Grand Rapids, MI
Section 8 in Grand Rapids, MI: payment standards by ZIP, PHA waitlist status, and voucher counts are on VoucherMatch, the same HUD dataset with the tenant demand side attached.
Compare to Similar Metros
| Metro Area | Verdict | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decatur, IL Decatur, IL | 80 | $126,931 | $928 | 8.77% | Strong Buy | View | |
Corning, NY Corning, NY | 80 | $171,646 | $1,293 | 9.04% | Strong Buy | View | |
Guymon, OK Guymon, OK | 80 | $168,571 | Est. | Strong Buy | View | ||
Union City, TN Union City, TN | 80 | $166,036 | Est. | Strong Buy | View | ||
Orangeburg, SC Orangeburg, SC | 80 | $163,772 | $1,320 | 9.67% | Strong Buy | View | |
Current Grand Rapids, MI | 60 | $359,923 | $1,623 | 5.41% | Buy |
Rent vs buy in this metro
The Bottom Line
The Grand Rapids, MI metro area scores 60/100, ranking #519 of 894 US metros (top 58%). The 5.41% rent-to-price ratio may require targeting specific counties or creative strategies for positive cash flow. Current metro-wide averages make traditional buy-and-hold investing challenging. Consider house hacking, value-add strategies, or drilling down to specific counties.