Resale evidence is the sharpest counterweight to the rent reading. In Redfin's direct rolling-three-month ZIP for-sale observation ending June 30, 2026, the median sold price was $884,800, 6.9% below its year-earlier level. The observation logged 23 homes sold with a median marketing time of 22 days and an inventory measure of 32 homes. Inventory was 115.0% higher year over year. The reported 4.3 months of supply relates listed inventory to the observed sales pace, so it is a for-sale liquidity measure rather than a rental-vacancy measure. Average sale-to-list was 103.9%, and 50.1% of sales were above list. Those measures describe ZIP resale transactions only, not rental transactions or rental comps.
Zillow's June 2026 ZIP ZORI was $1,852; its 3.3% year-over-year movement also equals the exact same-month annualized change over one year. The corresponding exact same-month annualized figures were 3.3% over three years and 4.1% over five years. Recent direction therefore confirms an upward path but breaks from the five-year path's faster pace. Monthly index returns produced 3.29% annualized variability, so a current index snapshot is more dependable as a period marker than as a fixed unit price. Separately, the history's 4.47% maximum drawdown shows that the past path was not continuously rising. All 65 observations and 64 consecutive returns were present, for 100% coverage. Transparent national discovery ranks were 837 for momentum, 2,037 for stability, and 1,333 for balanced history among history-eligible ZIPs, where lower is higher. These are backward-looking measurements, not forecasts or investment recommendations.
The five-digit label, 19118, is both the Zillow ZIP market identifier and the matching Census ZCTA. A ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. The matched ACS 2024 five-year survey reports median gross rent of $1,818 for occupied renter homes, and that measure includes selected utilities. It sits 1.9% below the current asking-rent index, but that proximity should not erase their different populations and construction. HUD FMR/SAFMR is instead an administrative, bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent. Scaling ZIP ZORI through the local HUD ladder produces modelled monthly ZIP estimates of $1,431 for a studio, $1,553 for one bedroom, $1,852 for two bedrooms, $2,224 for three bedrooms, and $2,483 for four bedrooms. They are modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents.
The income and burden readings create a second tension. Annualizing the asking-rent index and applying the 30% screen yields $74,080 in required annual income; that screen is arithmetic only, not advice or an applicant qualification rule. The matched ACS median household income was $109,649, and annualized ZORI equals 20.3% of that broad household-income figure. Neither calculation identifies what a renter household pays or can pay. Within ACS renter households, 1,188 of 2,297, or 51.7%, reported gross-rent burden at or above that screen. Gross rent's utility treatment and the survey's occupied-renter universe matter here. The burden share is an aggregate survey measure, not proof that any particular dwelling, landlord, or applicant is burdened.
ACS housing-stock figures describe the matched ZCTA's aggregate base, not units presently available to rent. Of 5,025 housing units, the stock had a 7.3% vacancy rate and a 49.3% renter share. It included 2,795 single-family units and 1,194 units in large multifamily structures; 186 vacant units were classified for rent. This mix identifies the survey's stock categories but does not make ZORI a single-property benchmark, because that asking-rent index blends rental types. Likewise, aggregate vacancy is neither a count of suitable listings nor evidence that a particular home is vacant. The ACS occupied-renter results and housing counts should be read as survey context alongside, rather than as substitutes for, a current advertised unit.
Broader rent context brackets the ZIP rather than replacing it. The City of Philadelphia context and Philadelphia County context each had a Zillow asking-rent value of about $1,814, while the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro context had $1,928. Thus the ZIP's current ZORI lies between those named wider-geography Zillow contexts. City, county, and metro figures are context only: they are not direct ZIP observations, cannot identify the rent of a given bedroom or structure, and should not be mixed with the ZCTA ACS median gross rent or the HUD administrative ladder. The comparison is useful chiefly because it keeps the current ZIP index in its proper wider market frame without treating those geographies as rental comps.
The data do not resolve into a single price story. ZIP asking rent was rising across every reported history horizon, whereas the direct ZIP resale median was lower year over year and resale inventory had expanded. That contrast challenges any simple inference from rent momentum or the 30% income screen to for-sale conditions; short marketing time and above-list results coexist with it within the same resale observation. Annualized ZIP ZORI divided by the Redfin median sold price is a 2.5% cross-source screening ratio only. It combines an asking-rent index with a resale median, omits property-level matching, and does not establish property economics. Its value is to flag the gap between the two aggregate source universes, not to translate either one into a transaction outcome.
Important limits remain despite full history coverage. ZORI is current ZIP asking-rent evidence; ACS is a multiyear survey of occupied homes; HUD is a standard; and Redfin is a trailing ZIP resale observation. Different timing, unit mix, occupancy status, and definitions prevent them from validating one another. Before drawing a property-level conclusion, the concrete checks are the advertised asking rent and its date, bedroom count, rental type, utility inclusions, lease terms, and whether the unit is still offered. For a resale comparison, the actual property type, list and sale status, and contemporaneous sales evidence require separate verification. None of these aggregate measures establishes a unit's lease price, condition, costs, or transaction terms. Which of those property-level facts would most change the interpretation of the current ZIP snapshot?
","findings":[{"body":"At $1,852, ZIP ZORI rose 3.3% year over year. Exact same-month annualized history was 3.3% over one and three years, versus 4.1% over five years. The direction is positive, but the latest pace is below the longest comparison. Complete 65-observation coverage makes the history continuous; 3.29% variability and a 4.47% drawdown still limit confidence in a unit-level reading.","title":"Rent growth remains positive but trails the longest history pace"},{"body":"Redfin's ZIP resale observation showed a $884,800 median sold price, down 6.9%, alongside 32 homes of inventory and 4.3 months of supply. The supply figure is listed inventory relative to observed sales pace, not rental vacancy. A 103.9% average sale-to-list result and a 50.1% above-list share coexist with the price decline. This is direct for-sale evidence only.","title":"Resale signals are mixed within the direct ZIP for-sale observation"},{"body":"ACS median gross rent is a five-year survey result for occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities, whereas ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index. HUD is a bedroom-specific administrative standard. The listed studio-through-four-bedroom ZIP amounts were created by applying the HUD ladder to ZORI, so they are modelled estimates rather than measured bedroom rents.","title":"Comparable-looking rent figures come from different universes"},{"body":"The arithmetic screen places $74,080 of annual income alongside a $1,852 monthly asking-rent index at the 30% threshold. Yet 51.7% of surveyed ACS renter households reported gross-rent burden at or above that threshold. The contrast does not establish affordability for any household because the income, burden, and asking-rent measures have different populations, timing, and definitions.","title":"Aggregate income and burden measures point in different directions"}],"risks":["ZORI, ACS, HUD, and Redfin answer different questions and use different timing, unit mixes, and definitions. Similar headline rent values cannot validate a unit's price, bedroom rent, utility treatment, or transaction economics.","ACS burden and vacancy are aggregate ZCTA survey measures with reported margins of error. They cannot prove that a specific renter, listing, landlord, or dwelling has a particular affordability or availability status.","Complete historical coverage strengthens continuity, but past same-month rent changes, monthly variability, and drawdown are backward-looking. They do not predict future asking rents or establish a stable price for every rental type.","Redfin's rolling ZIP resale sample combines a median sold price with limited sales and listing measures. It is not rental-comparable evidence, and its rent-to-price screen cannot settle property-level terms or costs."],"qa":[{"a":"The $1,818 ACS figure is a matched-ZCTA five-year survey median for occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. The $1,852 ZORI is a current ZIP typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types. Their 1.9% proximity is descriptive only; timing, population, and utility treatment differ.","q":"Why can the ACS rent and Zillow ZORI be close without being interchangeable?"},{"a":"No. The studio-through-four-bedroom figures are modelled monthly ZIP estimates created by scaling ZIP ZORI with the local HUD ladder. HUD FMR/SAFMR is a bedroom-specific administrative standard rather than asking-rent evidence, so those figures do not measure advertised, leased, or transacted rents for any individual bedroom category.","q":"Are the bedroom figures observed rents for studios through four-bedroom homes?"},{"a":"The screen converts the monthly $1,852 ZORI to an annual amount and identifies $74,080 as the income arithmetic associated with allocating 30% to that index. It is not eligibility guidance. The 51.7% ACS burden share instead describes surveyed occupied renter households and cannot determine an individual applicant's circumstances.","q":"What does the 30% required-income screen show?"},{"a":"Months of supply places the reported resale inventory against the observed sale pace in Redfin's rolling-three-month ZIP resale observation. It is therefore a for-sale liquidity measure, not rental vacancy. The 2.5% figure simply divides annualized ZORI by the median sold price and remains a cross-source screening ratio.","q":"How should the Redfin months-of-supply and rent-to-price figures be interpreted?"}],"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":"2021-02-01","rent":1450.201588},{"period":"2021-03-01","rent":1484.114103},{"period":"2021-04-01","rent":1492.59725},{"period":"2021-05-01","rent":1502.056086},{"period":"2021-06-01","rent":1513.157388},{"period":"2021-07-01","rent":1532.017993},{"period":"2021-08-01","rent":1511.426921},{"period":"2021-09-01","rent":1513.256069},{"period":"2021-10-01","rent":1534.566575},{"period":"2021-11-01","rent":1548.358014},{"period":"2021-12-01","rent":1558.672823},{"period":"2022-01-01","rent":1544.966954},{"period":"2022-02-01","rent":1543.975267},{"period":"2022-03-01","rent":1565.567083},{"period":"2022-04-01","rent":1581.752955},{"period":"2022-05-01","rent":1573.089299},{"period":"2022-06-01","rent":1555.458774},{"period":"2022-07-01","rent":1551.567813},{"period":"2022-08-01","rent":1581.855965},{"period":"2022-09-01","rent":1622.40685},{"period":"2022-10-01","rent":1635.213806},{"period":"2022-11-01","rent":1649.029464},{"period":"2022-12-01","rent":1641.950829},{"period":"2023-01-01","rent":1652.701225},{"period":"2023-02-01","rent":1665.859422},{"period":"2023-03-01","rent":1666.224225},{"period":"2023-04-01","rent":1659.971371},{"period":"2023-05-01","rent":1671.746657},{"period":"2023-06-01","rent":1677.569246},{"period":"2023-07-01","rent":1670.226213},{"period":"2023-08-01","rent":1646.165091},{"period":"2023-09-01","rent":1613.643913},{"period":"2023-10-01","rent":1602.521965},{"period":"2023-11-01","rent":1608.61275},{"period":"2023-12-01","rent":1645.421385},{"period":"2024-01-01","rent":1673.37073},{"period":"2024-02-01","rent":1657.289841},{"period":"2024-03-01","rent":1646.668881},{"period":"2024-04-01","rent":1629.418683},{"period":"2024-05-01","rent":1649.590504},{"period":"2024-06-01","rent":1664.634553},{"period":"2024-07-01","rent":1695.934875},{"period":"2024-08-01","rent":1716.426138},{"period":"2024-09-01","rent":1731.558362},{"period":"2024-10-01","rent":1744.051183},{"period":"2024-11-01","rent":1752.415494},{"period":"2024-12-01","rent":1748.808658},{"period":"2025-01-01","rent":1737.023505},{"period":"2025-02-01","rent":1747.376972},{"period":"2025-03-01","rent":1745.324661},{"period":"2025-04-01","rent":1776.953985},{"period":"2025-05-01","rent":1777.528679},{"period":"2025-06-01","rent":1791.947697},{"period":"2025-07-01","rent":1786.07003},{"period":"2025-08-01","rent":1791.393147},{"period":"2025-09-01","rent":1802.365382},{"period":"2025-10-01","rent":1810.373381},{"period":"2025-11-01","rent":1812.873578},{"period":"2025-12-01","rent":1813.314661},{"period":"2026-01-01","rent":1822.134583},{"period":"2026-02-01","rent":1834.934433},{"period":"2026-03-01","rent":1856.586971},{"period":"2026-04-01","rent":1856.066089},{"period":"2026-05-01","rent":1857.29165},{"period":"2026-06-01","rent":1851.646561}],"historySummary":{"pointCount":65,"firstPeriod":"2021-02-01","latestPeriod":"2026-06-01","coverageMonths":65,"coverageRatio":1,"changes":{"1":{"years":1,"startPeriod":"2025-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1791.947697,"endRent":1851.646561,"change":0.03331507057931726,"cagr":0.03331507057931726},"3":{"years":3,"startPeriod":"2023-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1677.569246,"endRent":1851.646561,"change":0.10376758838126676,"cagr":0.03345731991617562},"5":{"years":5,"startPeriod":"2021-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1513.157388,"endRent":1851.646561,"change":0.2236972675046014,"cagr":0.041201531051875406}},"maxDrawdown":-0.044735727707779005,"annualizedVolatility":0.032940614770440614,"consecutiveReturnCount":64}}