At $1,557, the ZIP’s Zillow Observed Rent Index shows a typical observed asking-rent level that rose 1.0% from the comparable prior month-year point. This is a ZIP-level asking-rent index blended across rental types, rather than a survey of occupied homes or a bedroom-specific rent quote. Against wider context, the Cary city-context asking-rent figure is $1,775, the Wake County context figure is $1,676, and the Raleigh-Cary, NC metro context figure is $1,689. ZIP 27513 therefore sits below each of those broader asking-rent benchmarks, but those city, county, and metro values are context only and do not replace the ZIP observation.
The backward-looking rent path is more nuanced than the current positive year-over-year result. Exact same-month annualized change was 1.0% over one year, 0.1% over three years, and 3.6% over five years. The latest direction confirms that asking rent is still above its prior-year level, yet it breaks from the stronger five-year pace and follows a nearly flat three-year result. Monthly changes annualize to 2.7% variability, which supports moderate rather than absolute confidence in any single current rent snapshot. Separately, the historical peak-to-trough decline reached 4.5%, demonstrating that the series has experienced declines despite its longer-run gain. Coverage is 100%, while transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs are 2,149 for momentum, 1,147 for stability, and 1,949 for the balanced measure; these are descriptive discovery ranks, not forecasts or investment recommendations.
The matched Census ZCTA provides a different housing universe. The 27513 label is both a Zillow ZIP market identifier and a Census ZCTA match, but a ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. In the ACS five-year survey, median gross rent was $1,617 with a $72 margin of error; this measure covers occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities, so it is not the same as Zillow asking rent. Median household income was $121,989 in that survey. The Zillow index equals 96.3% of ACS median gross rent, a cross-universe comparison that suggests similar broad levels but cannot establish that a current listing includes the same utilities or represents the same renter population.
Bedroom figures should be read as modelled estimates rather than measured bedroom rents. Scaling ZIP ZORI through the local HUD bedroom ladder produces monthly estimates of $1,354 for a studio, $1,419 for one bedroom, $1,557 for two bedrooms, $1,954 for three bedrooms, and $2,611 for four bedrooms. The associated HUD Fair Market Rent or Small Area Fair Market Rent standards are $1,670, $1,750, $1,920, $2,410, and $3,220. HUD’s ladder is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard rather than asking rent; it supplies the relative bedroom scaling, not direct ZIP rental transactions. The gap between the modelled ladder and HUD standards should therefore not be treated as a discount on a particular available unit.
An arithmetic income screen places the current asking-rent index in a different frame from observed renter burden. Applying the 30% screen to annualized ZIP ZORI produces required income of $62,280, and annualized asking rent equals 15.3% of ACS median household income. These calculations are not advice and are not an applicant qualification rule; they do not account for household size, debt, utilities outside the source definitions, concessions, or income distribution. Among 7,198 ACS renter households, 2,691 reported paying at least 30% of income toward rent, a burden share of 37.4%. That observed burden measure describes surveyed occupied renter households, not whether any specific new lease is affordable or whether an individual renter will qualify.
Housing stock and vacancy provide scale, but not proof of immediate availability. The ACS ZCTA reports 21,278 housing units, of which 1,312 were vacant, for a 6.2% vacancy rate; 951 units were classified as vacant and for rent. Renter-occupied homes represent 36.1% of occupied units. The stock is more heavily represented by single-family structures than by large multifamily buildings, which matters when comparing a blended asking-rent index with a specific property type. Neither the vacancy count nor the for-rent vacancy category verifies that a particular home is market-ready, competitively priced, or available under a given lease term.
Redfin’s direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale observation describes a for-sale market, not rental transactions. Median sold price was $539,378, down 2.3% year over year, with 158 homes sold and a median 16 days on market. The same ZIP resale record reports 280 active listings, a separate inventory count of 120 homes, and 2.3 months of supply. Sale-to-list averaged 99.6%; 35.8% of sales closed above list, while 48.5% went off market within two weeks. These liquidity signals accompany a modest resale-price decline, creating a useful tension: ZIP asking rent edged higher while the median sold-price measure moved lower. The 3.46% annualized-ZORI-to-median-sold-price screening ratio is only a cross-source screen, not a cap rate, net return, expected return, property yield, or statement about ownership economics.
The evidence supports a careful separation of observed asking rent, surveyed occupied-home rent, HUD administrative standards, and direct resale activity. Rent history is complete but shows a slower recent path than the five-year record, while resale data show active transaction flow alongside a lower median sold price. A property-level review would still need verified current asking rents by bedroom, lease term, utility treatment, concession status, and property type; it would also need relevant sold-home comparables, condition, list-price history, and marketing status. The central unresolved question is whether a specific unit’s documented rent and terms resemble the blended ZIP index closely enough for these broad screens to be informative.
","findings":[{"body":"ZIP 27513’s Zillow asking-rent index is below the Cary city, Wake County, and Raleigh-Cary metro context figures. That comparison is useful for positioning the ZIP, but the broader geographies are not substitutes for the ZIP observation. Zillow’s measure remains a blended typical asking-rent index across rental types rather than a direct quote for a particular unit.","title":"Current asking rent trails broader context"},{"body":"The one-year same-month rent change is positive, yet the three-year path is nearly flat and the five-year rate is materially stronger. Moderate variability and a measurable historical drawdown mean the current reading has good historical coverage but should not be treated as an unchanging rent level. The history describes past observations only.","title":"Recent rent growth is positive but slower than the longer record"},{"body":"Studio through four-bedroom estimates scale the ZIP Zillow index using the local HUD ladder. They are modelled monthly estimates, not measured bedroom rents or evidence of available units. HUD Fair Market Rent or Small Area Fair Market Rent values are administrative bedroom-specific standards, so differences from the ZIP asking-rent index do not identify a property-level bargain.","title":"Bedroom ladder is modelled from HUD standards"},{"body":"Redfin’s direct ZIP resale record shows a lower median sold price year over year while Zillow asking rent increased modestly. At the same time, sales volume, short marketing time, limited months of supply, and near-list sale pricing describe resale liquidity. These signals concern for-sale transactions and cannot be converted into rental performance or property economics.","title":"Resale softness contrasts with modest asking-rent growth"}],"risks":["Zillow asking rent, ACS gross rent, and HUD bedroom standards cover different populations and definitions. Comparing them without checking utilities, property type, lease terms, and occupancy can create a misleading property-level conclusion.","The rent history is complete but backward-looking. Its modest recent growth, variability, and historical drawdown mean a current index reading should not be interpreted as a forecast or as evidence that future rents will move in one direction.","Redfin resale metrics are direct ZIP for-sale observations, not rental comparables. Median sold price, supply, marketing time, and sale-to-list measures cannot establish a unit’s rent, operating costs, financing outcome, or ownership return.","ACS vacancy and rent-burden figures are survey-based ZCTA aggregates with sampling uncertainty. They describe groups of homes and households, not the availability, affordability, condition, or tenant profile of a particular property."],"qa":[{"a":"Zillow ZORI is a ZIP-level typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types. ACS median gross rent is a five-year survey measure for occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. The ZCTA is a statistical area rather than an identical USPS delivery ZIP, adding another scope difference.","q":"Why does Zillow rent differ from ACS median gross rent?"},{"a":"The one-year reading is positive, but the three-year result is close to flat and the five-year record is stronger. Annualized monthly variability and the historical drawdown show that the series has moved around its trend. Complete coverage improves evidence continuity, not certainty about future rent changes.","q":"What does the rent history say about the current snapshot?"},{"a":"No. The studio through four-bedroom figures are modelled monthly estimates created by scaling the ZIP Zillow asking-rent index with the local HUD bedroom ladder. HUD FMR or SAFMR values are administrative standards, not asking-rent observations, and neither series confirms the rent of a specific available unit.","q":"Are the bedroom rent figures observed market rents?"},{"a":"It is annualized ZIP Zillow ZORI divided by Redfin’s median sold price from the direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale observation. It is only a cross-source screening ratio. It does not include expenses, financing, taxes, maintenance, vacancy experience, unit condition, or any property-specific rent evidence.","q":"How should the Redfin rent-price screening ratio 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 + 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