At the June 2026 reading, Zillow ZORI for 27127 is $1,754 per month, a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types rather than a quote for one available home. The five-digit 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. For wider context only, the Zillow asking-rent figure for the city of Winston-Salem is $1,537, the Forsyth County context figure is $1,579, and the Winston-Salem, NC metro context figure is $1,564. The ZIP sits above the city and metro context readings but below the county context figure, a narrow range that should not substitute for ZIP-level listing verification.
The current reading follows a distinctly cooling historical pattern rather than a renewed acceleration. The exact same-month one-year ZORI change was 0.16%, compared with a three-year annualized change of 3.35% and a five-year annualized change of 5.88%. Thus, recent direction breaks from the stronger longer path: asking-rent growth has nearly stalled even though the multiyear record remains positive. History coverage is complete across the available interval. Variability, measured from monthly returns at an annualized 2.75%, suggests the series has moved moderately rather than erratically, which supports reasonable confidence in the broad current level but not precision about an individual unit. Its worst historical peak-to-trough decline was 2.55%, showing that declines did occur. Transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs are 1,671 for momentum, 1,163 for stability, and 1,537 for the balanced measure, where lower ranks are higher; these backward-looking measures are neither forecasts nor investment recommendations.
The difference between current asking rent and resident-reported rent is material, but it is a source-scope difference before it is a market conclusion. The matched Census ZCTA ACS five-year survey reports median gross rent of $1,118, making the Zillow asking-rent index 56.9% higher. ACS gross rent describes occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities, so it can reflect older leases, differing unit mixes, and utility treatment; it is not a current asking-rent series. The local FY2026 HUD two-bedroom FMR/SAFMR standard is $1,270, and ZORI is 38.1% higher. HUD is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard rather than asking rent, so neither the ACS figure nor HUD standard should be used as a direct replacement for the current ZIP asking-rent index.
Bedroom figures should therefore be read as modelled estimates, not measured bedroom rents. Scaling the ZIP ZORI using the local HUD bedroom ladder produces estimated monthly asks of $1,423 for a studio, $1,547 for one bedroom, $1,754 for two bedrooms, $2,293 for three bedrooms, and $2,721 for four bedrooms. This approach preserves the ZIP-wide Zillow level while applying the relative spacing of the HUD ladder. It does not establish that a currently marketed home of any size rents at those amounts, nor does it capture condition, utilities, concessions, lease duration, furnishing, or an individual property’s features. The most useful role of the ladder is to organize a current-rent screen where observed ZIP bedroom rent data are absent.
The income screen identifies a further tension. Median household income in the matched ZCTA is $61,926, while paying the current ZORI at the arithmetic 30% threshold requires $70,160 in annual income; the implied asking-rent-to-income relationship is 34.0%. This is a mechanical screen, not advice and not an applicant qualification rule. Among renter households, 39.4% report spending at least 30% of income on rent, a survey burden measure that cannot prove the burden for any particular unit or prospective renter. The ZCTA has 18,356 housing units, an 8.1% overall vacancy rate, and a 34.3% renter share. Of the vacant-unit categories, 481 are listed as vacant for rent, but that category does not show current availability, pricing, unit condition, or whether any one dwelling is suitable for a particular household.
Wider-area comparisons reinforce the need to keep geography and source universes separate. The city of Winston-Salem context has a higher renter share, vacancy rate, and reported rent-burden share than this matched ZCTA, while Forsyth County context also has a somewhat higher renter share and burden share. The Winston-Salem metro context has a lower rent-to-income measure than the ZIP’s arithmetic asking-rent screen, but its apartment vacancy measure is a metro market context statistic rather than a ZIP housing-unit vacancy statistic. These contrasts neither prove excess ZIP rent pressure nor establish easier availability. They indicate that the ZIP’s current asking-rent level, its slower recent history, and its occupied-household survey profile should be interpreted together rather than collapsed into one rental measure.
Redfin provides a separate, direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale observation through June 30, not rental transactions or rental comparables. Median sold price was $271,189, up 5.11% year over year, with 173 homes sold and a median 55 days on market. Inventory stood at 185 homes and months of supply measured 3.2, meaning the listed resale stock represented roughly that many months of supply at the observed sales pace; it is a resale-liquidity measure, not rental vacancy. The average sale-to-list result was 97.89%, while 16.09% of homes sold above list and 37.89% went off market within two weeks. Rising resale prices challenge the rent-history cooling signal, but below-list average outcomes, inventory, and marketing time temper any claim of uniformly intense resale competition. Annualized ZIP ZORI divided by median sold price equals a 7.76% cross-source screening ratio only; it is not a cap rate, net return, expected return, or property yield.
The evidence is strongest on broad ZIP asking-rent level, historical direction, survey household conditions, and recent ZIP resale liquidity; it is weakest on any specific dwelling. Zillow ZORI does not identify a lease-ready unit, ACS does not measure current listings, HUD does not measure asking rent, and Redfin resale data do not describe rental transactions. A property-level review would need to confirm the current advertised rent, utilities included, bedroom count, concession and lease terms, actual vacancy status, and comparable current asks. For a sale candidate, the recorded sale details, listing history, physical condition, occupancy status, and any transaction-specific obligations remain unobserved here. The central unresolved question is whether an individual unit’s current terms align with the ZIP-level rent screen while the broader asking-rent trend cools and resale evidence remains comparatively firmer.
","findings":[{"body":"Zillow ZORI is $1,754 for the ZIP, while ACS median gross rent is $1,118 in the matched ZCTA. That spread is informative but not a direct apples-to-apples premium because ZORI tracks current observed asks, whereas ACS covers occupied renter homes over a five-year survey period and includes selected utilities.","title":"Current asking-rent level is high relative to resident survey rent"},{"body":"The one-year same-month ZORI change is only 0.16%, substantially below the annualized three-year and five-year changes. Moderate historical variability and a limited maximum drawdown make the current index useful as a broad market snapshot, but the slowdown means longer-run appreciation should not be projected forward.","title":"Recent rent momentum has cooled sharply"},{"body":"The arithmetic income needed to keep the ZIP ZORI at 30% of income exceeds matched-ZCTA median household income. Reported rent burden is also substantial among renter households. These measures describe aggregate screening and survey conditions, not the affordability, eligibility, or payment outcome of a specific renter or dwelling.","title":"Household income screen is tighter than the median income"},{"body":"Redfin’s direct ZIP resale data show a higher median sold price year over year, yet average sale-to-list performance remains below list and marketing takes time. That creates a cross-market tension: resale prices strengthened while asking-rent growth nearly flattened. The annualized-rent-to-price figure remains only a screening ratio.","title":"Resale evidence is firmer than rent momentum, but not uniformly heated"}],"risks":["The ZIP ZORI is a blended asking-rent index rather than a unit-level lease quote, so differences in bedrooms, condition, utilities, concessions, furnishing, and lease duration can materially change a specific advertised rent.","ACS rent, income, vacancy, and burden measures come from a five-year survey of a matched statistical ZCTA, with sampling uncertainty and occupied-household coverage that do not establish current conditions for a particular property.","HUD bedroom standards are administrative benchmarks, and the ZIP bedroom amounts are modelled by scaling ZORI with that ladder; neither source measures current bedroom-specific rents being offered in the market.","Redfin observations describe direct ZIP resale activity over a rolling three-month window. Sold-price, supply, and sale-to-list signals cannot establish rental demand, property operating results, or a prospective transaction outcome."],"qa":[{"a":"The two figures cover different evidence universes. Zillow ZORI is a current typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, while ACS median gross rent is a five-year survey measure for occupied renter homes that includes selected utilities. Older leases, unit mix, and utility treatment can all create a large gap without identifying an error.","q":"Why is Zillow rent so much higher than ACS median gross rent?"},{"a":"No. They are modelled ZIP estimates created by applying the local HUD bedroom ladder to the ZIP-wide Zillow ZORI level. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative bedroom-specific standard, not an asking-rent survey. The estimates are useful for structured screening but should be checked against current listings and actual lease terms.","q":"Are the bedroom rent figures observed rents for available homes?"},{"a":"It is arithmetic: annual income is calculated so that the current monthly Zillow ZORI equals 30% of gross income. It is not financial advice, an underwriting conclusion, a rental qualification rule, or evidence that any household can or cannot afford a particular unit with its own utilities, debts, subsidies, or lease structure.","q":"What does the 30% income calculation mean?"},{"a":"Use Redfin only as direct ZIP for-sale market evidence. Its sold price, days on market, inventory, months of supply, and sale-to-list indicators describe resale liquidity and pricing, not rental transactions. Dividing annualized ZORI by median sold price creates a cross-source screening ratio, not a cap rate, net return, property yield, or expected return.","q":"How should the Redfin resale data be used with the rent data?"}],"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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