Zillow and Census data, September 2026
Rental property math in Lakeland, FL
A typical Lakeland home is worth $295,502 and a typical single-family rental there gets $2,071 a month, 0.70% of the price. At 80% LTV and an assumed 7.25% rate, that rent covers the full payment 1.06x, enough for a DSCR loan: rent is $27 above the $2,044 that 1.05x needs.
- Typical home value
- $295,502-2.2% in a year
- Single-family rent
- $2,071+2.5% in a year
- Rent / price, monthly
- 0.70%138th of 574 metros
- Property tax rate
- 0.76%$2,234 a year on the typical home
- DSCR at 80% LTV
- 1.06x117th of 574; 1.05x needed
- Cash to close
- $67,96520% down + 3% costs
The DSCR on the typical Lakeland house
Loan: $295,502 × 80% = $236,402. At 7.25% over 30 years, principal and interest are $1,613 a month. Taxes: $295,502 × 0.76% = $2,234 a year, $186 a month. Insurance, assumed at 0.6% of value: $1,773 a year, $148 a month. Payment (PITIA): $1,947. DSCR: $2,071 ÷ $1,947 = 1.06x.
Rent that clears 1.05x: $1,947 × 1.05 = $2,044.
The margin is thin. At 8.25% the typical house falls to 0.98x, and an insurance quote at 1.2% of value instead of 0.6% would drop it to 0.99x, under the line.
How much room the rent leaves
Typical rent would support a loan of $240,182 at 1.05x, more than the $236,402 that 80% LTV allows, so here the LTV cap is the limit, not the rent. Put another way, at 80% LTV the rent carries a purchase up to about $299,417, $3,915 above the typical price, once taxes and insurance are scaled to that price. After the payment, $124 a month is left for vacancy, repairs and management, which the DSCR test does not count.
How Lakeland compares
Lakeland's rent-to-price ratio ranks 138th of 574 metros and 3rd of 24 Florida metros in this data. Over the year to September 2026, rents rose 2.5% while prices fell 2.2%, so the rent-to-price ratio got better. That is in line with the median metro (+3.5%).
| Lakeland, FL | Florida | All 574 metros | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical price | $295,502 | $338,409 | $287,147 |
| Single-family rent | $2,071 | $2,129 | $1,771 |
| Rent / price | 0.70% | 0.65% | 0.61% |
| Rent, 1-year change | +2.5% | +2.1% | +3.5% |
| Price, 1-year change | -2.2% | -0.8% | +2.2% |
| Property tax rate | 0.76% | 0.74% | 0.75% |
| DSCR at 80% LTV | 1.06x | 0.99x | 0.91x |
| Metros at 1.05x or better | Yes | 4 of 24 | 126 of 574 |
Homeowners here pay 0.76% of value in property tax, about the same as the Florida average of 0.76%. Florida's homestead exemption and its 3% Save Our Homes cap do not apply to a rental. A rental's assessment is capped at 10% a year, but the cap resets to market value at sale, so a buyer usually pays more than this average. Zillow's all-homes rent index, which mixes in apartments, is $1,814 here; single-family houses rent 14% higher.
Nearby metros
| Metro | Miles | Price | SFR rent | Rent / price | DSCR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando, FL | 39 | $383,302 | $2,434 | 0.64% | 0.96x |
| Sebring, FL | 47 | $231,288 | $1,626 | 0.70% | 1.07x |
| Tampa, FL | 52 | $356,843 | $2,390 | 0.67% | 1.01x |
| North Port, FL | 62 | $403,540 | $2,536 | 0.63% | 0.96x |
| Palm Bay, FL | 65 | $342,339 | $2,232 | 0.65% | 1.00x |
The nearest metro with a better DSCR is Sebring, FL, 47 miles away (1.07x on a typical price of $231,288).
These are metro-wide typicals, not any one property. The lender's appraisal sets the value and market rent for the house you buy, and the lender uses the lower of the lease and that market rent (90% of it on a vacant unit). The rate is a placeholder for the math, not a quote. How the numbers are built.
Sources
- Home values: Zillow Research, Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), all homes, middle tier, smoothed and seasonally adjusted, metro level, September 2026 (CSV).
- Rents: Zillow Research, Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), single-family residences, smoothed, metro level, September 2026 (CSV). The all-homes index that includes apartments is used only for the comparison line (CSV).
- Property tax: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates. The rate is aggregate real estate taxes paid (table B25090, file) divided by aggregate home value (table B25082, file) for owner-occupied homes in the metro area or state.
- Distances between metros: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer file for metro areas (ZIP).
Home value and rent data: Zillow, Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index. Zillow does not review or endorse this page. Tax and geography data: U.S. Census Bureau. Loan math by Doors Funded. Refreshed when Zillow publishes a new month.
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