At June 2026, Zillow’s ZIP market identifier 15210 reports a monthly ZORI of $1,355, a 3.58% exact same-month 1-year advance. Exact same-month annualized changes were 6.16% across 3 years and 6.61% across 5 years. The latest level therefore exceeds its year-earlier reading but breaks from the longer span’s faster increase, fitting the supplied cooling label rather than indicating a rent decline. It remains a market-level asking-rent index, not a quote for a particular listing. The five-digit label is both a Zillow ZIP market identifier and a Census ZCTA match; a ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP.
At its June 30, 2026 endpoint, the direct rolling-three-month Redfin ZIP resale observation supplies a separate for-sale signal, not rental transactions. Its median sold price was $135,419, down 5.96% year over year, across 53 homes sold; median marketing time was 71 days. Inventory was 128 homes, producing 7.3 months of supply. Sale-to-list averaged 94.54%; 19.25% of sales closed above list, while 31.41% went off market within two weeks. These are direct resale liquidity and pricing measures only: they do not quantify leases, alter Zillow’s asking-rent index, or establish economics for a rented property.
Together, the positive current rent change and softer resale picture create a screening tension. Annualized ZIP ZORI divided by the median sold price equals 12.01%, only a cross-source screening ratio. It combines an asking-rent index with a resale median, so it cannot represent the income, costs, financing, condition, or timing of an individual home. The resale price decline and supply evidence challenge any simple claim that positive rent growth alone describes a uniformly strong market, while the slower rent gain is directionally consistent with cooling. This is a backward-looking comparison, not a forecast or an investment conclusion.
History makes that deceleration more interpretable, but only as past measurement. The series contains 115 ZORI observations, 114 consecutive monthly returns and 100% coverage. Its month-to-month returns annualize to 3.13% variability; this documented dispersion means one current ZIP index snapshot cannot reliably specify any unit’s current ask. Separately, the maximum drawdown was 2.19%, a historical trough rather than a limit on future movement. Among history-eligible ZIPs, transparent national discovery ranks put momentum at 461, stability at 1,816 and balance at 719, with lower ranks stronger. Complete coverage supports continuity, while variability still tempers confidence in a single current rent snapshot. These are backward-looking readings, not forecasts or investment recommendations.
Scope, rather than a conflict, explains why rent figures differ. ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types. The matched Census ZCTA’s ACS 2024 five-year survey instead reports $1,082 median gross rent among occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. HUD’s FY2026 FMR/SAFMR is an administrative bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent. The modelled monthly bedroom estimates scale the ZIP ZORI with the local HUD ladder: $1,042 studio, $1,122 one-bedroom, $1,355 two-bedroom, $1,729 three-bedroom and $1,871 four-bedroom, referenced to the $1,340 HUD two-bedroom standard. They are modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents. Different periods, populations and measure construction mean neither the ACS survey nor HUD standard replaces ZORI.
The 30% income screen puts a distinct affordability tension next to the price trend. Applied to current ZORI, it produces $54,200 of annual required income, above the $52,169 local median household income. This is arithmetic, not advice or an applicant qualification rule. In the ACS ZCTA, 46.37% of renter households are burdened at or above that threshold, an aggregate condition that cannot establish a particular household’s situation. The housing stock totals 12,785 units, with a 17.91% vacancy rate and 193 units vacant for rent. It includes 9,703 single-family units. Aggregate vacancy and burden do not prove availability or affordability for a particular unit.
For wider context, Pittsburgh city context’s $1,592.60 rent benchmark, Allegheny County context’s $1,551 rent benchmark, and Pittsburgh, PA metro context’s $1,523 rent benchmark each exceed the ZIP ZORI. Those city, county and metro figures are wider-area context only, not ZIP rental comparables, and their scope must remain separate from the direct ZIP measure. The difference gives scale to the local reading but does not identify why levels vary or whether any individual home resembles the index. Nor can a wider-context rent figure substitute for ZIP resale data, the ACS ZCTA survey, or the HUD bedroom standard.
Several limits remain material before applying these aggregates to a property. ZORI reports an asking-rent index, the ACS survey is a five-year survey of occupied renter homes, HUD is an administrative standard, and Redfin reports resale activity; their endpoints and universes differ. Property-level checks need to keep rental and resale evidence apart: verify current advertised asking rent, bedroom count, included utilities, lease start, and actual availability against the specific listing; then inspect list status, closed-sale date, list price, sold price, and marketing time separately for resale context. The vacancy count cannot identify a vacant home, and the historical path cannot set a future rent. Which documented property facts match these broad ZIP, ZCTA and resale measures?
","findings":[{"body":"Zillow’s June 2026 ZORI is $1,355, up 3.58% over one year. That positive move sits below the 6.16% and 6.61% annualized growth recorded over three and five years. The evidence therefore describes deceleration, not a broad rent drop. Redfin’s separate resale median fell 5.96%, a directionally compatible but non-rental indication of softer current conditions.","title":"Cooling rent path meets softer resale evidence"},{"body":"The studio-through-four-bedroom amounts are modelled monthly ZIP estimates created by scaling ZORI with the local HUD bedroom ladder. They are not measured rents from bedroom-specific leases. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative standard, while ZORI is a blended asking-rent index. The model is useful for consistent size scaling, but it cannot replace a unit-level rent quote.","title":"Bedroom figures are modelled rather than observed"},{"body":"The 30% arithmetic screen converts the current ZORI into $54,200 of required annual income, slightly above the reported $52,169 median household income. Separately, 46.37% of ACS ZCTA renter households are burdened at or above that threshold. Neither measure determines eligibility, and neither establishes affordability for a particular household or unit.","title":"Income screen and aggregate burden are distinct signals"},{"body":"Redfin’s direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale observation shows a $135,419 median sold price, 53 homes sold, 71 median days on market and 7.3 months of supply. Sale-to-list measures indicate an average sale below list, with a minority of sales above list. These are for-sale market observations, not rental transactions or rent comparables.","title":"ZIP resale liquidity remains a separate market universe"}],"risks":["Zillow ZORI, ACS gross rent, HUD standards, and Redfin resale observations use different populations, timing, and definitions; combining them beyond the stated screens can create a false impression of direct comparability.","The ACS vacancy and rent-burden measures are ZCTA aggregates. They cannot verify that a particular home is vacant, that utilities are comparable, or that a specific household faces the reported burden.","The bedroom ladder scales a broad ZORI with HUD standards. It is not a set of observed bedroom lease transactions and may not match a specific unit’s condition, layout, inclusions, or advertised price.","The rolling three-month Redfin resale data describe closed for-sale activity and listing signals. They do not establish rental turnover, property operating costs, future values, or the terms available on any lease."],"qa":[{"a":"15210 is used here as Zillow’s ZIP market identifier and as the matched Census ZCTA. A ZCTA is a statistical area used for Census reporting, not a USPS delivery ZIP. The shared five-digit label therefore does not make boundaries, populations, or the underlying data universes identical.","q":"Why do ZIP and ZCTA labels require separate interpretation?"},{"a":"The exact same-month record shows positive 1-year growth of 3.58%, slower than the 3-year and 5-year annualized readings. The series is complete in the packet, but 3.13% annualized variability means the current index is a broad snapshot. Its past maximum drawdown describes prior movement only and does not set a future range.","q":"What does the rent history say about direction and confidence?"},{"a":"No. The studio-through-four-bedroom amounts are modelled monthly ZIP estimates produced by scaling the ZIP ZORI with the local HUD bedroom ladder. HUD is an administrative standard rather than observed asking rent. Likewise, the 30% income calculation simply converts rent into a gross-income threshold; it does not determine eligibility, advice, or any household’s outcome.","q":"Are the bedroom estimates observed rents or an income qualification test?"},{"a":"No. Redfin directly observes the ZIP’s rolling-three-month for-sale and resale market, including closed-sale price, sales volume, exposure time, inventory, supply and sale-to-list behavior. It does not report rental transactions. Dividing annualized ZORI by median sold price is a cross-source screening ratio only and cannot establish the economics, terms, or performance of a specific home.","q":"Can the resale evidence establish rental economics for a particular home?"}],"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 Area FMRs — ZIP rent fallback","release":"ZIP-CBSA 2025Q4 + SAFMR FY2026","pulledAt":"2026-07-26","url":"https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/usps_crosswalk.html"},{"key":"realtor_county","name":"Realtor.com Economic Research — county listing inventory","release":"county inventory 2026-06","pulledAt":"2026-07-28","url":"https://www.realtor.com/research/data/"},{"key":"redfin","name":"Redfin Data Center — inventory, days on market, and price cuts","release":"metro tracker through 2026-05-01","pulledAt":"2026-07-26","url":"https://www.redfin.com/news/data-center/"},{"key":"redfin_zip","name":"Redfin Data Center — ZIP resale activity and supply","release":"ZIP rolling 3 months through 2026-06-30; updated 2026-07-03","pulledAt":"2026-08-12","url":"https://www.redfin.com/news/data-center/"},{"key":"zillow_county","name":"Zillow ZHVI and ZORI — county values and rents","release":"county ZHVI/ZORI 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 2026-06","pulledAt":"2026-08-08","url":"https://www.zillow.com/research/data/"}],"history":[{"period":"2016-12-01","rent":772.775757},{"period":"2017-01-01","rent":785.728209},{"period":"2017-02-01","rent":783.349277},{"period":"2017-03-01","rent":794.409128},{"period":"2017-04-01","rent":785.335878},{"period":"2017-05-01","rent":793.292866},{"period":"2017-06-01","rent":799.855309},{"period":"2017-07-01","rent":808.179857},{"period":"2017-08-01","rent":811.154144},{"period":"2017-09-01","rent":813.072035},{"period":"2017-10-01","rent":807.893922},{"period":"2017-11-01","rent":800.43098},{"period":"2017-12-01","rent":801.199101},{"period":"2018-01-01","rent":822.055224},{"period":"2018-02-01","rent":828.203042},{"period":"2018-03-01","rent":832.322432},{"period":"2018-04-01","rent":817.602614},{"period":"2018-05-01","rent":816.384779},{"period":"2018-06-01","rent":823.180777},{"period":"2018-07-01","rent":830.604666},{"period":"2018-08-01","rent":835.710217},{"period":"2018-09-01","rent":830.844511},{"period":"2018-10-01","rent":838.759841},{"period":"2018-11-01","rent":845.863786},{"period":"2018-12-01","rent":857.59148},{"period":"2019-01-01","rent":849.924731},{"period":"2019-02-01","rent":852.857508},{"period":"2019-03-01","rent":853.354769},{"period":"2019-04-01","rent":873.15558},{"period":"2019-05-01","rent":877.46015},{"period":"2019-06-01","rent":874.616508},{"period":"2019-07-01","rent":873.792835},{"period":"2019-08-01","rent":875.056972},{"period":"2019-09-01","rent":884.782774},{"period":"2019-10-01","rent":888.997633},{"period":"2019-11-01","rent":891.889846},{"period":"2019-12-01","rent":890.646574},{"period":"2020-01-01","rent":890.194064},{"period":"2020-02-01","rent":891.971351},{"period":"2020-03-01","rent":901.371852},{"period":"2020-04-01","rent":912.49452},{"period":"2020-05-01","rent":916.712598},{"period":"2020-06-01","rent":920.071994},{"period":"2020-07-01","rent":919.067589},{"period":"2020-08-01","rent":916.308669},{"period":"2020-09-01","rent":925.350936},{"period":"2020-10-01","rent":919.675354},{"period":"2020-11-01","rent":936.86331},{"period":"2020-12-01","rent":940.931468},{"period":"2021-01-01","rent":958.452074},{"period":"2021-02-01","rent":959.049292},{"period":"2021-03-01","rent":967.900877},{"period":"2021-04-01","rent":967.148754},{"period":"2021-05-01","rent":971.43835},{"period":"2021-06-01","rent":983.54397},{"period":"2021-07-01","rent":998.214339},{"period":"2021-08-01","rent":1016.328094},{"period":"2021-09-01","rent":1030.741145},{"period":"2021-10-01","rent":1047.366478},{"period":"2021-11-01","rent":1051.399945},{"period":"2021-12-01","rent":1037.441015},{"period":"2022-01-01","rent":1035.478269},{"period":"2022-02-01","rent":1038.076776},{"period":"2022-03-01","rent":1051.729194},{"period":"2022-04-01","rent":1059.133643},{"period":"2022-05-01","rent":1073.254275},{"period":"2022-06-01","rent":1077.7087},{"period":"2022-07-01","rent":1080.937866},{"period":"2022-08-01","rent":1086.813139},{"period":"2022-09-01","rent":1087.902075},{"period":"2022-10-01","rent":1095.820308},{"period":"2022-11-01","rent":1089.703793},{"period":"2022-12-01","rent":1102.150561},{"period":"2023-01-01","rent":1101.810993},{"period":"2023-02-01","rent":1104.359632},{"period":"2023-03-01","rent":1107.409961},{"period":"2023-04-01","rent":1112.471097},{"period":"2023-05-01","rent":1131.842313},{"period":"2023-06-01","rent":1132.202296},{"period":"2023-07-01","rent":1145.474611},{"period":"2023-08-01","rent":1130.886913},{"period":"2023-09-01","rent":1134.732162},{"period":"2023-10-01","rent":1125.418104},{"period":"2023-11-01","rent":1155.068602},{"period":"2023-12-01","rent":1175.732063},{"period":"2024-01-01","rent":1199.179266},{"period":"2024-02-01","rent":1202.541671},{"period":"2024-03-01","rent":1201.515685},{"period":"2024-04-01","rent":1203.700973},{"period":"2024-05-01","rent":1187.137222},{"period":"2024-06-01","rent":1204.213324},{"period":"2024-07-01","rent":1219.088903},{"period":"2024-08-01","rent":1243.325767},{"period":"2024-09-01","rent":1240.758148},{"period":"2024-10-01","rent":1233.709724},{"period":"2024-11-01","rent":1220.646996},{"period":"2024-12-01","rent":1216.057388},{"period":"2025-01-01","rent":1225.536236},{"period":"2025-02-01","rent":1254.343601},{"period":"2025-03-01","rent":1264.128058},{"period":"2025-04-01","rent":1275.060586},{"period":"2025-05-01","rent":1296.436671},{"period":"2025-06-01","rent":1307.935608},{"period":"2025-07-01","rent":1307.853439},{"period":"2025-08-01","rent":1313.378673},{"period":"2025-09-01","rent":1330.978988},{"period":"2025-10-01","rent":1357.001804},{"period":"2025-11-01","rent":1369.875401},{"period":"2025-12-01","rent":1376.477042},{"period":"2026-01-01","rent":1371.715512},{"period":"2026-02-01","rent":1359.732104},{"period":"2026-03-01","rent":1364.669934},{"period":"2026-04-01","rent":1365.547599},{"period":"2026-05-01","rent":1363.326466},{"period":"2026-06-01","rent":1354.726496}],"historySummary":{"pointCount":115,"firstPeriod":"2016-12-01","latestPeriod":"2026-06-01","coverageMonths":115,"coverageRatio":1,"changes":{"1":{"years":1,"startPeriod":"2025-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1307.935608,"endRent":1354.726496,"change":0.03577461131404558,"cagr":0.03577461131404558},"3":{"years":3,"startPeriod":"2023-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1132.202296,"endRent":1354.726496,"change":0.19654102520915573,"cagr":0.06163655624184239},"5":{"years":5,"startPeriod":"2021-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":983.54397,"endRent":1354.726496,"change":0.3773929151332198,"cagr":0.06613344847220293}},"maxDrawdown":-0.02193180558446517,"annualizedVolatility":0.031258405889428666,"consecutiveReturnCount":114}}