ZIP code 97201 covers the Southwest Portland; walkable Pearl District adjacent area with strong urban rental demand. On the median price and the HUD rent, 97201 does not cash flow at 20% down. That is a legitimate position to take on an appreciation thesis, but it should be a decision rather than a surprise — the shortfall, the break-even rent and the appreciation needed to justify it are all quantified below.
This page works the numbers end to end: what a median-priced property costs to buy, what HUD says a 2-bedroom rents for, and what that combination produces as cap rate, monthly cash flow, cash-on-cash return and break-even rent at current financing.
Market Statistics
What It Costs to Buy in 97201
At $495,000 with 20% down you need $113,850 in cash — a $99,000 deposit plus about $14,850 of closing costs at 3% — and finance $396,000. At 7.0% over 30 years that is $2,635/month in principal and interest before a single operating cost.
Income and Operating Expenses
HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent for 97201 is $1,750/month, or $21,000 a year gross. Applying 7% vacancy, 9% management, 1% of value for maintenance, 0.5% for insurance and 1% for property tax:
Returns at 20% Down
| Metric | Value | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| Gross yield | 4.24% | Rent before any costs, as a share of price |
| Cap rate | 1.09% | Unlevered return after operating costs |
| Monthly cash flow | -$2,185 | After debt service at 7.0% |
| Cash-on-cash | -23.03% | Return on the $113,850 actually invested |
| DSCR | 0.17× | Lenders typically want 1.25× or better |
| Gross rent multiplier | 23.6 | Price divided by annual rent |
| Break-even rent | $4,332/mo | Rent needed to cover everything |
On these assumptions a median-priced property in 97201 runs $2,185 a month negative at 20% down — the rent does not cover the loan plus operating costs. It is well short of both the 1% rule and the 0.7% modern screen, at 0.35% of price in monthly rent. Raising the deposit to 30% cuts the payment to $2,305/month and moves cash flow to -$1,855/month on $163,350 of cash invested, a -13.63% cash-on-cash return.
Rate Sensitivity
Nothing on this page moves the result as hard as the mortgage rate. Holding rent and price fixed:
| Mortgage Rate | P+I Payment | Monthly Cash Flow |
|---|---|---|
| 6.0% | $2,374/mo | -$1,924/mo |
| 7.0% | $2,635/mo | -$2,185/mo |
| 8.0% | $2,906/mo | -$2,456/mo |
What Has to Be True for 97201 to Work
A median-priced rental in 97201 consumes $26,220 a year in cash at 20% down. That does not automatically make it a bad purchase: the same loan repays $4,023 of principal in the first twelve months, so the real first-year drag is closer to $22,197. For the deal to break even on cash alone the property must appreciate 5.3% a year. Over a five-year hold, amortisation by itself builds $23,239 of equity while you fund roughly $131,100 of cumulative shortfall — so the honest question about 97201 is whether you can carry it that long, not whether the rent covers the mortgage. It does not.
Where 97201 Sits Among Covered ZIPs
Of the 10 ZIP codes profiled on this site, 97201 ranks 7th by gross rental yield and 5th most expensive by median sale price. A 32-day median time on market classifies it as a warm market, which sets how much negotiating room a buyer realistically has on the entry price used in every calculation above.
The ZIP codes closest to 97201 on yield are 98101 Seattle (4.14%), 80201 Denver (4.13%), 37201 Nashville (4.67%). Those are the fairer comparison set: a yield gap against a market with a different price level, tax rate and tenant profile tells you very little.
Reading 97201 in Context
A single ZIP tells you nothing until you compare it. Screen 97201 against neighbouring ZIPs on the same three fields used here — median sale price, HUD 2-bedroom rent and days on market — before drawing a conclusion about Portland. The city market reports give the metro-level baseline to compare against.