In the supplied June 2026 release, Zillow ZORI for 23185 is $2,110 a month. This is a ZIP-level typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, rather than a quote for any particular home or lease. The local reading is above the about $2,058 Zillow value in the Williamsburg city context, the $2,000 Zillow value in the Williamsburg City county context, and the $1,878 Zillow value in the Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, VA–NC metro context; each is a broader-scope comparison, not a substitute for the ZIP. That positioning frames the central tension: the ZIP asking-rent index is elevated against those contextual rent readings, while the other datasets describe different populations, standards, and transaction markets.
The historical path gives the current index support but does not turn it into a forecast. Exact same-month ZORI change was 6.12% over one year, 4.51% annualized over three years, and 6.67% annualized over five years through the stated endpoint. Recent growth therefore exceeds the middle-horizon pace yet trails the longer-horizon pace: it confirms a continuing upward path rather than a break from it. Coverage was 100%, with 138 observations and 137 consecutive monthly returns. Month-to-month returns annualized to 2.13% variability, making a current snapshot less exposed to a sharp monthly swing than a choppier series would be; the deepest historical peak-to-trough decline was 1.94%. Transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs were 278 for momentum, 221 for stability, and 30 for balanced history, where lower ranks are higher.
At the June 30, 2026 endpoint, Redfin’s direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale observation recorded a $499,887 median sold price, up 3.99% from a year earlier, across 269 homes sold. Its for-sale market signals were 28 median days on market, 182 homes of inventory, and 2.0 months of supply. Average sale-to-list was 99.54%, while 33.24% of homes sold above list. These are resale liquidity and pricing observations, not rental transactions or rental comparables. The price increase confirms upward movement in both the resale and rent-index series, but it lags the rent index’s one-year gain, creating a cross-market tension rather than proof of a common trend. Annualized ZIP ZORI divided by median sold price equals 5.07%, solely a cross-source screening ratio—not a cap rate, net return, expected return, or property yield.
Income and survey rent sharpen the source mismatch. The ACS five-year survey ending in 2024 reports a ZCTA median gross rent of $1,489, which includes selected utilities and represents occupied renter homes, not advertised vacancies. A ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. Zillow’s $2,110 typical asking-rent index is 41.71% higher, a gap that should not be read as an error or as a unit-level premium. Applying a 30% share mechanically to the index produces $84,400 of annual required income; that arithmetic screen is neither advice nor an applicant qualification rule. The ZCTA median household income was $105,431, making the index 24.02% of that annual income before household-specific adjustments. Separately, 2,927 of 5,694 surveyed renter households, or 51.40%, reported rent burden at or above the survey threshold. Burden describes survey households, not the likely cost burden in a particular available unit.
These are modelled estimates, not measured bedroom rents. The ZIP ZORI is scaled by the local HUD FY2026 bedroom ladder, producing monthly modelled estimates of $1,840 for a studio, $1,864 for one bedroom, $2,110 for two bedrooms, $2,931 for three bedrooms, and $3,446 for four bedrooms. The HUD FMR/SAFMR ladder used for scaling is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard, not an asking-rent series; it should not be treated as evidence that an advertised unit rents at its FMR amount. The two-bedroom model equals the overall index because that rung is the scaling base, not because the ZIP contains a measured two-bedroom median. These estimates organize size differences around the ZIP index but do not capture building condition, utilities, furnishing, lease terms, or a specific home.
The ACS stock profile adds caution about availability without identifying any particular vacancy. Of 22,873 housing units in the matched ZCTA, 16,463 were single-family units, indicating that this structure type accounts for much of the measured stock. The overall vacancy rate was about 12.0%; the survey identifies 734 vacant units for rent and 1,078 seasonal vacancies. Neither category proves that a current rental is open, attainable, or comparable to the ZORI basket, because vacancy categories can reflect timing, use, and survey definitions. The local renter presence is likewise a survey-composition measure rather than proof that the current asking-rent index applies uniformly across homes.
Taken together, the decision tension is not a claim that one source is right and another is wrong. ZORI follows typical observed asking rents across rental types; ACS describes occupied renter homes and selected utilities; HUD provides an administrative rent standard; and Redfin logs sales of homes. The higher ZIP asking-rent index, the lower survey gross rent, and a distinct resale price series can therefore coexist without contradiction. Williamsburg city, Williamsburg City county, and the Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News metro serve only as wider contexts, not ZIP substitutes. Full history coverage establishes that the reported rent changes were observed rather than inferred from a sparse sequence, but its backward-looking measurement cannot resolve where a new listing or future sale will land.
Practical review must remain property-specific. Confirm whether the advertised home’s asking rent, bedroom count, utility responsibilities, lease duration, and furnishing status match the modelled rung and the ZORI’s blended rental-type scope. For a sale-side comparison, check that the property’s actual transaction date, condition, location within the ZIP, and listing-versus-closing record resemble the direct Redfin resale observation rather than treating its median as a comp. Check occupancy and vacancy claims against the survey universe and its timing before assigning them to a unit. The evidence distinguishes a current ZIP index, a historical series, a household survey, an administrative standard, and a rolling resale snapshot; it does not provide property-level rent, availability, operating costs, or a forecast. Which property-level facts actually match the home under review?
","findings":[{"body":"Zillow’s current ZIP index follows a history whose recent growth is above its medium-term pace but below its longer-term pace. Low observed variation and a shallow historical drawdown make the index less dependent on one volatile month, while full observation coverage strengthens the retrospective measurement. None of those facts predicts renewal pricing, future listings, or investment performance.","title":"Historical asking-rent growth remains internally consistent"},{"body":"The ACS ZCTA median gross rent and burden results refer to occupied renter households and selected utilities, whereas ZORI describes typical observed asking rents across rental types. Their difference is therefore a defined universe mismatch, not a simple affordability markup. The required-income result is a mechanical thirty-percent calculation, and burden prevalence cannot establish what an applicant or a listed unit will experience.","title":"Survey affordability and asking rent measure different universes"},{"body":"The bedroom series applies the local HUD bedroom ladder to the ZIP-wide ZORI. It is useful for maintaining a consistent size relationship, but every resulting figure is a modelled estimate rather than a measured local bedroom rent. HUD FMR/SAFMR itself is an administrative standard, so neither the standard nor its scaled estimate substitutes for a matching advertised unit.","title":"Bedroom ladder is a model, not a rent-comp set"},{"body":"Redfin’s rolling resale observation shows pricing and liquidity in homes that sold, not rents accepted by tenants. Its sale-price movement is slower than the ZIP rent-index movement, even as short supply and near-list execution appear in the for-sale signals. The annualized rent-to-price calculation is only a cross-source screen; it supplies no operating-cost, financing, or property-specific evidence.","title":"Resale liquidity does not create rental comparables"}],"risks":["The ZIP identifier matches a Census ZCTA for this packet, but the ZCTA is a statistical survey geography rather than an identical USPS delivery ZIP. Survey timing, occupied-home coverage, selected utilities, and sampling uncertainty can limit direct comparison with a newly marketed home.","A ZIP-wide asking-rent index blends rental types and does not control for a subject property’s bedroom count, condition, furnishings, lease structure, or utility obligations. A current listing may differ from both ZORI and the HUD-scaled bedroom estimate without demonstrating an error.","Vacancy counts include units for rent, seasonal use, and other survey categories, so they cannot establish live availability, competition, or an applicant’s attainable rent for a particular address. The burden statistic likewise describes households, not an open unit.","The Redfin statistics are rolling ZIP resale data. Median sale price and sale-to-list measures omit property-level operating costs, financing, condition, and rental operations; the rent-to-price screen must not be treated as a cap rate, property yield, or forecast."],"qa":[{"a":"The $2,110 Zillow figure is ZORI, a ZIP-level typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types in the supplied June 2026 release. It is not a measured rent for a specific bedroom count, property condition, lease term, or utility arrangement, and it should not be substituted for an individual listing quote.","q":"What does the current rent number measure?"},{"a":"The ACS value is a five-year survey result for occupied renter homes in the matched Census ZCTA and includes selected utilities. ZORI tracks typical observed asking rent, so the series cover different renters, timing, and rent concepts. A ZCTA is a statistical geography, not an identical USPS delivery ZIP.","q":"Why do Zillow and ACS rent figures differ?"},{"a":"The bedroom figures are obtained by scaling the ZIP-wide ZORI with the local HUD FY2026 bedroom ladder. They preserve the ladder’s relative relationships, but they are modelled estimates, not observed bedroom rents. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative standard rather than evidence of the asking rent for a comparable listed home.","q":"How should the bedroom estimates be read?"},{"a":"No. Redfin records a rolling three-month ZIP resale observation, including price, supply, marketing, and sale-to-list information for homes that sold or were listed in the for-sale market. Dividing annualized ZORI by median sold price creates only a cross-source screening ratio and does not include expenses, financing, property traits, or future performance.","q":"Does Redfin establish a property return?"}],"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 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