At $2,588 in June 2026, the 11355 Zillow Observed Rent Index, or ZORI, was up 5.5% from a year earlier. ZORI is a ZIP-level typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, rather than a lease-by-lease rent measure. The annual income produced by applying the 30% screen to that monthly index is $103,520, compared with matched-area median household income of $55,326. The resulting 56.1% asking-rent-to-income comparison is a strong affordability tension, but it is arithmetic only: it is neither advice nor an applicant qualification rule, and it does not establish what any individual household can pay.
The backward-looking direct ZIP ZORI history is complete, with 100% coverage. Exact same-month changes annualized to 5.5% over 1 year, 6.0% over 3 years, and 5.8% over 5 years. Recent growth therefore confirms the longer upward direction, although the latest pace is modestly below the longer-window rates rather than accelerating beyond them. Monthly ZORI changes, annualized, showed 4.0% variability, so one current reading deserves less confidence as a stable point estimate than a smoother series would. Separately, the deepest peak-to-trough decline reached 7.3%, documenting meaningful historical reversals. In transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs, 11355 placed 204th for momentum, 2,585th for stability, and 983rd on the balanced measure. These are historical measurements, not forecasts or investment recommendations.
The period-end Redfin direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale observation presents a different tension. Median sold price was $644,654, up 1.1% year over year, while 65 homes sold and median marketing time was 76 days. Inventory stood at 218 homes and months of supply measured 10.2. Sale-to-list signals also appeared measured rather than urgent: the average sale-to-list ratio was 98.1%, and 14.3% of sales closed above list. These are for-sale market and resale-liquidity observations, not rental transactions or rental comparables. Annualized ZIP ZORI divided by median sold price produces a 4.8% cross-source screening ratio only; it is not a cap rate, net return, expected return, or property yield. Positive asking-rent history thus coexists with slower-looking resale conditions, challenging any simple reading that rent momentum and resale liquidity are moving together.
The five-digit 11355 label is both a Zillow ZIP market identifier and a matched Census ZCTA. A ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. The ACS five-year survey reports median gross rent of $1,725 for occupied renter homes in the matched ZCTA; gross rent includes selected utilities. That figure is about 1.5 times lower than the current asking-rent index, but the gap is not a contradiction because the sources measure different populations, time frames, and rent concepts. ACS is a survey-based measure of occupied homes, while Zillow tracks typical observed asking rents. Neither source substitutes for the other, and neither establishes the rent of a particular available unit.
The bedroom ladder translates the ZIP ZORI into modelled monthly estimates, not measured bedroom rents. Using the local HUD ladder to scale the ZIP index produces estimates of $1,877 for a studio, $2,178 for one bedroom, $2,588 for two bedrooms, $3,170 for three bedrooms, and $3,653 for four bedrooms. The local HUD two-bedroom standard is $2,616, close to the modelled two-bedroom estimate because the HUD bedroom relationships provide the scaling framework. HUD FMR or SAFMR is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard rather than asking rent. It should therefore be read as the input ladder for these modelled estimates, not as evidence that available units are listed or leased at those amounts.
Housing composition adds context but not unit-level availability. The matched ACS ZCTA contains 32,362 housing units, reports a 4.0% vacancy rate, and has a 66.6% renter share; large multifamily units outnumber single-family units in the reported stock. Of the vacant-unit categories, 367 were vacant for rent. That count does not prove that a particular unit is available, suitable, or priced at the ZIP asking-rent index. Rent burden is also substantial in the occupied-renter survey universe: 58.4% of renter households reported spending at least 30% of income on gross rent. Because this burden metric uses survey-reported occupied homes and selected utilities, it cannot prove the burden of a current listing or a specific tenant. Reported survey margins of error also remain relevant when reading these estimates.
Wider-market context reinforces how localized the ZIP reading is: the City of New York context asking-rent index was $4,133, the Queens County context asking-rent index was $3,256, and the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA metro context asking-rent index was $3,573. Each is a broader geographic context, not a substitute ZIP rental comparison. The lower ZIP asking-rent index relative to all three wider scopes sits beside a high local asking-rent-to-income screen and a high surveyed burden share. That combination describes a relative-price contrast, not a conclusion about quality, neighborhood conditions, household choices, or the terms of any available apartment.
Several limits constrain use of this report. ZORI is an index across rental types, ACS is a multi-year survey of occupied renter homes, HUD is an administrative standard, and Redfin records direct ZIP resale conditions rather than property economics. Concrete property-level checks therefore remain essential: the documented asking rent, effective rent after concessions, bedroom designation, included utilities, lease terms, date of availability, unit condition, and listing history can all differ from ZIP-level measures. For a purchase-related review, property-specific transaction records and listing details matter more than the ZIP median sold price. The unresolved question is whether the documented terms of a specific unit align with the relevant source universe, rather than whether any one ZIP statistic can answer that question alone.
","findings":[{"body":"The June 2026 ZIP ZORI was $2,588, while the arithmetic income needed to place that amount at 30% of income was $103,520. Matched ZCTA median household income was materially lower at $55,326. This comparison identifies an affordability screen, not a tenant qualification result or a statement about any particular household.","title":"Asking-rent affordability tension"},{"body":"Same-month ZORI growth remained positive across the one-, three-, and five-year windows, so the recent direction did not break from the longer path. However, the ZIP is categorized as high variability, and its historical drawdown shows that the path has included reversals. A current ZORI point should be interpreted with that historical variation in mind.","title":"Positive history with limited snapshot stability"},{"body":"Redfin's direct ZIP resale observation showed a modest sale-price increase, but long marketing time, substantial months of supply, and a below-list average sale-to-list ratio describe a less urgent for-sale setting. This does not contradict rental data mechanically, because resale records and asking-rent observations measure separate markets with different participants and timing.","title":"Resale liquidity is less forceful than rent momentum"},{"body":"ACS median gross rent is lower than ZORI because ACS measures occupied renter homes over a five-year survey period and includes selected utilities, while ZORI tracks typical observed asking rents. HUD bedroom standards provide an administrative ladder used to model bedroom estimates. None of these sources supplies measured current bedroom rents for a specific available unit.","title":"Source definitions drive the rent gap"}],"risks":["The current asking-rent index, ACS gross-rent survey, HUD administrative standards, and Redfin resale observations have different dates, populations, and definitions. Combining them without preserving those boundaries can create misleading comparisons.","High historical variability and a documented maximum drawdown mean that a single current ZORI value may not represent a stable near-term level. Historical movement is descriptive only and does not establish a future direction.","The cross-source annualized-rent-to-sale-price figure omits expenses, financing, taxes, repairs, vacancy experience, concessions, and property characteristics. It cannot be treated as a property-level return, cap rate, or yield.","Vacancy, renter-share, and rent-burden measures are area-level survey statistics. They do not demonstrate availability, affordability, condition, utility inclusion, or burden for a particular apartment or household."],"qa":[{"a":"The measures cover different evidence universes. Zillow ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index at the ZIP level and blends rental types. ACS median gross rent is a five-year survey measure for occupied renter homes in the matched ZCTA and includes selected utilities. Different timing, occupancy status, and rent definitions can produce a substantial gap without either source being incorrect.","q":"Why is the Zillow asking-rent index higher than ACS median gross rent?"},{"a":"No. The studio through four-bedroom figures are modelled monthly ZIP estimates created by scaling the overall ZIP ZORI with the local HUD bedroom ladder. HUD FMR or SAFMR is an administrative bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent. The estimates do not identify actual listings, executed leases, unit condition, concessions, or utility terms.","q":"Are the bedroom amounts measured rents for available apartments?"},{"a":"Redfin contributes direct ZIP for-sale evidence only. Its median sold price, homes sold, days on market, inventory, months of supply, and sale-to-list measures describe the resale market's observed liquidity and pricing conditions. They are not rental transactions or rental comparables. The annualized ZORI-to-price figure is only a cross-source screen, not a property return measure.","q":"What does the Redfin evidence contribute to this rental report?"},{"a":"No. The calculation simply annualizes the ZIP asking-rent index and divides it by 30%. It is a standardized affordability screen, not leasing advice, a legal standard, a lender rule, or an applicant qualification test. Actual qualification can depend on documented income, lease terms, household composition, guarantors, concessions, utilities, and other property-specific facts not contained here.","q":"Does the 30% required-income calculation determine whether a renter qualifies?"}],"sources":[{"key":"apartment_list_time_on_market","name":"Apartment List Time on Market — listing liquidity","release":"Apartment List 2026-07","pulledAt":"2026-08-08","url":"https://www.apartmentlist.com/research/category/data-rent-estimates"},{"key":"apartment_list_vacancy","name":"Apartment List Vacancy Index — rental vacancy","release":"Apartment List 2026-07","pulledAt":"2026-08-08","url":"https://www.apartmentlist.com/research/apartment-list-vacancy-index-methodology"},{"key":"census_zcta_facts","name":"Census ACS five-year — ZCTA housing and income","release":"ACS 2024 5-year ZCTA","pulledAt":"2026-08-08","url":"https://api.census.gov/data/2024/acs/acs5.html"},{"key":"hud_zip","name":"HUD USPS crosswalk and Small 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2026-06","pulledAt":"2026-07-26","url":"https://www.zillow.com/research/data/"},{"key":"zillow_zori","name":"Zillow ZORI — metro market rents","release":"Metro_zori_uc_sfrcondomfr_sm_sa_month.csv","pulledAt":"2026-07-26","url":"https://www.zillow.com/research/data/"},{"key":"zillow_zori_city","name":"Zillow ZORI — city market rents","release":"zillow_zori_city.csv","pulledAt":"2026-07-29","url":"https://www.zillow.com/research/data/"},{"key":"zillow_zori_zip","name":"Zillow ZORI — ZIP market rents","release":"ZORI ZIP 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