The central tension in 31401 is that the June 2026 Zillow Observed Rent Index, or ZORI, is $2,199 per month even as its latest same-month change is only 0.3%. ZORI is a ZIP-level, typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, so it is a current market benchmark rather than a lease ledger or a measured rent for one unit. The five-digit label is both a Zillow ZIP market identifier and a Census ZCTA match. That Census ZCTA is a statistical area, not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP, which matters whenever a listing address or mailing ZIP is being matched to this report.
The matched Census ZCTA’s ACS 2024 five-year survey puts median gross rent at $1,558 and median household income at $52,509. Unlike ZORI, gross rent describes occupied renter homes over the survey period and includes selected utilities; it is not an asking-rent series. The current index is 41.1% higher than that survey median. Applying a 30%-of-income arithmetic screen to $2,199 produces $87,960 of annual income, well above the reported median. That is a budget comparison, not advice or an applicant qualification rule. Separately, 54.1% of ZCTA renter households were burdened at or above that threshold, an aggregate condition that cannot prove the affordability of an individual available unit.
Redfin’s direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale observation presents a different, and softer, for-sale picture; it does not record rental transactions. Median sold price was $563,873, down 10.9% year over year; 100 homes sold, and median marketing time was 78 days. Reported inventory was 274 homes with 8.3 months of supply. Buyers paid an average 95.0% of list price, and 6.2% of sales closed above list. Every price, liquidity, supply, and sale-to-list signal here belongs only to the ZIP resale universe. The 4.68% result from annualized ZIP ZORI divided by median sold price is a cross-source screening ratio only; it does not measure property income, expenses, or future performance. The price decline and below-list signal challenge the high asking-rent benchmark, affordability stretch, and a simple continuation reading of the rent path, but they cannot explain or disprove rent behavior because sales and rental transactions differ.
Rent history clarifies why the low current growth rate deserves more weight than the index level alone. Through the stated history endpoint, exact same-month ZORI changes annualize to 0.3% over one year, 1.2% over three years, and 5.5% over five years. Thus, the nearly flat recent pace breaks from, rather than confirms, the stronger five-year upward path. The series has 100% coverage across the supplied observation period. Monthly ZORI returns translate to 3.4% annualized variability, enough to limit confidence in any one snapshot as a durable characterization. The deepest observed peak-to-trough decline was 4.2%, showing that the earlier path was not uninterrupted. Transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs were 2,150 for momentum, 2,128 for stability, and 2,496 for the balanced measure, where lower rank is higher. These are backward-looking measurements, not forecasts or investment recommendations.
Wider geographies frame the current premium but cannot substitute for ZIP evidence. In wider-area context only, the City of Savannah context rent figure is $1,807, the Chatham County context rent figure is $1,781, and the Savannah, GA metro context rent figure is $1,820; each belongs to a broader scope than the ZIP market. The ZIP index sits above each reference, making the slow recent ZIP movement more consequential than a simple citywide comparison. These city, county, and metro figures describe their named scopes only; they neither redefine the ZCTA survey population nor establish a rent for a specific property.
Bedroom comparisons should be read as a model, not as observed submarket pricing. The supplied FY2026 HUD FMR/SAFMR framework is a bedroom-specific administrative standard, not asking rent: its local ladder runs from $1,455 for a studio to $2,547 for four bedrooms. Scaling ZIP ZORI by that local HUD ladder produces modelled monthly estimates of $1,904 for a studio, $2,007 for one bedroom, $2,199 for two bedrooms, $2,925 for three bedrooms, and $3,334 for four bedrooms. Those figures carry the ZIP index’s blended rental-type signal through HUD’s relative bedroom steps. They are modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents, and they do not determine a particular listing’s configuration, utility treatment, concession, or lease price.
Survey stock data add a different tension: the ZCTA contains 11,651 housing units, with 8,459 occupied and 3,192 vacant, a 27.4% vacancy rate. Renter occupancy represents 64.3% of occupied homes, making renter conditions central to the survey picture. The vacancy total spans for-rent, seasonal, and other categories, so it does not equal immediate rental availability. This ACS survey is not a live inventory feed, and a vacancy classification supplies no evidence that a given unit is lease-ready, comparable to ZORI, or priced at the displayed index.
Interpretation should stop short of treating any index, survey median, administrative standard, or resale statistic as a unit quote. The current ZORI is blended across rental types; ACS describes occupied households; HUD supplies a standard; and Redfin records completed for-sale transactions. A property-level review therefore needs to confirm the address’s market match, the live advertised rent and availability, actual bedroom count, lease term, which utilities and fees are included, and whether the unit resembles the basis of any proposed comparison. It should also separate an individual sale comparison from the rolling resale aggregate. The unresolved decision question is whether a specific available home’s all-in terms actually resemble the blended ZIP signal rather than one of these distinct evidence universes.
","findings":[{"body":"Zillow’s June 2026 ZIP index is $2,199, whereas the City of Savannah, Chatham County, and Savannah, GA metro context indexes are lower. This flags a current ZIP premium, but ZORI is a blended typical asking-rent measure. It does not establish achieved rent, condition, lease terms, included utilities, or availability for any individual residence.","title":"Current asking-rent premium"},{"body":"The ACS ZCTA’s median gross rent is a five-year survey measure of occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities, whereas ZORI reflects asking rents. The calculated 30% income screen compares the current index with reported median household income; it is arithmetic rather than advice. The burden statistic signals aggregate pressure, but neither identifies a tenant’s resources nor proves a particular vacant unit affordable.","title":"Affordability measures serve different purposes"},{"body":"Same-month ZORI changes show near-flat one-year growth after materially stronger five-year annualized growth. Complete observation coverage supports reading the history as a documented record, yet return variability and the prior drawdown argue against treating the latest index as a permanent level. Discovery ranks are comparative navigation tools among history-eligible ZIPs, not forecasts or investment conclusions.","title":"History has decelerated from its longer path"},{"body":"Redfin’s rolling-three-month record is entirely a ZIP for-sale observation. Falling median sold prices, reported marketing time and supply, and below-list average sale-to-list results define the current resale snapshot. That snapshot challenges the high asking-rent and affordability tension without resolving it because home sales and rental listings are different transactions. The annualized-rent-to-price figure remains a cross-source screen, not a property-level financial result.","title":"Resale evidence challenges, but does not resolve, the rent tension"}],"risks":["ZORI is blended across rental types and reflects typical observed asking rents, so a premium index can differ materially from a particular unit’s advertised all-in terms, concessions, or availability.","ACS uses the matched ZCTA, which is statistical rather than a USPS delivery geography, and its five-year estimates may not align exactly with a current ZIP listing or lease.","The modelled bedroom figures inherit ZIP-level ZORI and HUD relative standards; they cannot capture a home’s actual layout, condition, utilities, fees, furnishing, or lease duration.","Redfin resale data describe completed for-sale activity, not rental transactions. Price declines and supply conditions cannot establish a cause, a rent concession, or the economics of an individual property."],"qa":[{"a":"A five-digit Zillow ZIP market identifier is the geography for ZORI, while the Census match is a ZCTA. A ZCTA is a statistical area created for tabulation and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. Consequently, ACS household and housing results should not be assumed to map perfectly to every mailing or listing address.","q":"Why does the report distinguish a ZIP from a ZCTA?"},{"a":"It annualizes the $2,199 monthly ZORI and divides that amount by 30% to produce $87,960. This is a transparent arithmetic comparison with the reported median household income, not financial advice, a household budget, or an applicant qualification test. It also does not predict what any landlord will charge or accept.","q":"What does the 30% required-income screen mean?"},{"a":"No. The studio-through-four-bedroom figures are modelled monthly estimates created by scaling the ZIP-wide ZORI with the local HUD bedroom ladder. HUD’s figures are administrative standards rather than asking rents, and ZORI is blended across rental types. Neither source directly measures the advertised rent of a particular bedroom count or property.","q":"Are the bedroom estimates observed rents?"},{"a":"The rent series records backward-looking asking-rent index movements, whereas Redfin records a rolling three-month set of completed ZIP home sales. The resale softening challenges an interpretation of the rent premium as universally strong, but it does not establish causation. Review both as separate screens, then verify unit-specific rent terms and a relevant individual sales comparison.","q":"How should resale and rent history be used together?"}],"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 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