The central tension in ZIP 36606 is that the asking-rent series is rising while the for-sale series records a faster price gain and average closing below list. At June 2026, Zillow ZORI is $1,285 a month. ZORI is a ZIP-level, typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types; it is not a census survey or a bedroom-specific quote. Mobile city context has $1,311.05, while Mobile County context and Mobile, AL metro context both stand at $1,335. Those named city, county, and metro figures are wider-area context, not ZIP observations. This ZIP label is both a Zillow ZIP-market identifier and a Census ZCTA match. A ZCTA is a statistical area, not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP, so these boundary labels should not be treated as interchangeable.
Through the June endpoint, the direct Zillow ZIP history consists of 69 monthly observations with 100% coverage. Exact same-month annualized ZORI changes are 4.61% over 1-year, 5.31% over 3-years, and 7.31% over 5-years. Annualized monthly-return variability is 3.02%, and the maximum drawdown is 1.35%. The transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs are 359 for momentum, 1,661 for stability, and 531 for the balanced measure; a lower rank is higher in each ordering. The current direction therefore confirms an upward rent path, but the smaller short-window gain breaks from the faster pace registered over the longer windows. The limited observed variability and drawdown support more confidence in this particular index snapshot than a highly erratic series, while neither supplies a forecast nor removes the need to inspect current listings. These are backward-looking measurements, not investment recommendations.
By contrast, ACS supplies a different housing universe. In the ACS 2024 five-year survey for occupied renter homes in the matched ZCTA, median gross rent is $980, which is 31.1% below the current ZORI. Gross rent includes selected utilities, while ZORI represents asking rents, so their spread should not be read as a newly signed-lease premium. The ZCTA median household income is $51,303. Annualizing the ZORI produces a $51,400 income figure under the 30% screen, placing the index almost exactly at that area-wide median-income benchmark. That screen is arithmetic only: it is not affordability advice, a household budget, or an applicant qualification rule. ACS is a survey, and its renter-home result cannot establish the rent or utility bill for any specific vacant or occupied unit.
Bedroom figures should be read even more narrowly. Zillow does not measure bedroom-specific ZIP asking rents in this packet. Instead, the ZIP ZORI is scaled with the local HUD ladder to create modelled monthly estimates of $1,008, $1,096, $1,285, $1,676, and $1,713 in ascending bedroom order from studio upward. They are modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents. The ZORI-matching step is 26.0% above its corresponding HUD standard. The FY2026 HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard—either a ZIP SAFMR or county-derived ladder in this packet—not an asking-rent observation. Thus the ladder is useful for internally scaling the single ZORI index but cannot substitute for ads, leases, or rental comparables for a particular bedroom count.
The matched ZCTA had 9,148 housing units, including 985 vacant units, for a 10.8% overall vacancy rate. Its renter share was 51.3%, and the housing stock included 6,312 single-family units; those stock measures describe the ZCTA’s aggregate structure, not the supply or condition of any individual property. ACS reports no units classified as vacant-for-rent, but that survey estimate is not proof that no rental is available. It also cannot identify turnover, concessions, lease terms, or unit quality. Overall vacancy counts include multiple vacancy categories, so they cannot be repurposed as a rental-vacancy measurement. The evidence supports only a broad stock and occupancy reading.
Measured burden reinforces the tight arithmetic screen but remains a survey result, not a property attribute. ACS reports 2,121 of 4,190 renter households spending at least 30% of income on rent, a 50.6% burden share. Mobile city context has a higher renter-burden share, but that city comparison is wider context rather than ZIP evidence. The burden estimates describe households in the survey universe, and they do not prove that tenants in a given building are cost burdened, that a particular rent is affordable, or that a unit will lease. Income, utilities included in gross rent, household composition, and contract terms are not equivalent between an asking-rent index and a household survey.
Redfin’s direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale observation is a for-sale market measurement, never a rental transaction dataset. It reports a $189,957 median sold price, up 7.02% year over year, with 72 homes sold, 32 median days on market, and an inventory reading of 84 homes. The reported 3.5 months of supply expresses inventory against recent sales flow, not rental availability or a universal buyer–seller balance label. The average sale-to-list ratio was 96.6%, and 20.0% of sales closed above list. The resale price increase exceeds the ZORI increase, challenging a simple combined strength reading from rent history and resale pricing; it does not change the arithmetic income screen. It also does not link sale prices to the actual rents, expenses, or condition of individual properties.
Several limits prohibit turning the aggregate readings into property economics. Annualized ZIP ZORI divided by median sold price is a cross-source screening ratio only, not a measure of property-level economics or any form of return. Zillow’s blended index, ACS renter-home survey, HUD standard, and Redfin resale records do not form a matched set of transactions for an individual building. Concrete property-level checks would need to reconcile the current advertised rent and concessions by bedroom, lease length, utility responsibility, unit condition and availability, and nearby sale dates, list terms, and closing terms. They would also need to verify that the address is in the intended delivery ZIP and that its boundaries align with the ZCTA match. Which exact rent, utility, bedroom, and resale records actually describe the property under review?
","findings":[{"body":"Zillow’s June 2026 ZIP ZORI is $1,285. The direct history has complete coverage across 69 monthly readings, with annualized same-month gains of 4.61%, 5.31%, and 7.31% across the one-, three-, and five-year horizons. The positive short window confirms an upward historical direction, but its slower rate does not reproduce the longer-window pace. This is history, not a forecast.","title":"Rent path remains positive but has slowed"},{"body":"The matched ACS 2024 five-year ZCTA survey places median gross rent at $980 versus the $1,285 asking-rent index. Gross rent includes selected utilities and covers occupied renter homes, unlike ZORI. The ZORI-equivalent 30% income screen is $51,400, just above median household income of $51,303. Separately, 50.6% of surveyed renter households meet the burden threshold; this does not classify an individual household.","title":"Income screen is near the ZCTA median benchmark"},{"body":"The bedroom estimates are created by scaling the ZIP ZORI with the local HUD ladder, producing values from $1,008 through $1,713. They are not measured asking rents for bedroom-specific units. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative standard at ZIP SAFMR or county-derived scope in this packet, so it should remain separate from Zillow’s asking-rent index and from actual property advertisements.","title":"Bedroom ladder is modelled rather than observed"},{"body":"Redfin’s direct ZIP resale series shows a $189,957 median sold price, rising 7.02% year over year, versus the 4.61% one-year ZORI increase. The resale observation also reports 72 homes sold, 32 days on market, 3.5 months of supply, and a 96.6% average sale-to-list ratio. These are for-sale liquidity and pricing signals, not rental transactions or property-level rent economics.","title":"Resale activity challenges a simple rent-strength reading"}],"risks":["ZIP-market and matched-ZCTA labels overlap in this packet but are not identical geographies. Combining Zillow asking rents with ACS household figures can distort a property-specific conclusion if boundary alignment is not checked.","The reported absence of ACS vacant-for-rent units is a survey classification, while overall vacancy includes multiple statuses. Neither figure proves that any address is vacant, available, or likely to lease.","Full history coverage and a shallow observed drawdown do not make the ZORI series predictive. It remains a blended index and may not reproduce the rent path, bedroom mix, utilities, or concessions for a selected property.","Redfin sale prices and liquidity measures concern completed ZIP resales in a rolling period. They cannot establish a rental comparable, operating expense profile, property value, or relationship between a specific sale and a specific lease."],"qa":[{"a":"At June 2026, Zillow ZORI for ZIP 36606 is $1,285 monthly. It is a typical observed asking-rent index at Zillow’s ZIP-market scope and blends rental types. It does not identify a particular advertised unit, a signed lease, a utility package, or a measured bedroom-specific rent.","q":"What is the current ZIP rent reading, and what does it measure?"},{"a":"ACS describes occupied renter homes over a five-year survey and includes selected utilities in gross rent, while Zillow ZORI is an asking-rent index blended across rental types. The two figures arise from different populations, timing, definitions, and geographic labels, so they are not competing observations of the same lease.","q":"Why does the ACS rent figure differ from Zillow ZORI?"},{"a":"Each bedroom figure is modelled by scaling the single ZIP ZORI with the local HUD bedroom ladder. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative standard, not an asking-rent sample. Consequently, the outputs organize the index by bedroom size but do not measure what any particular studio, one-bedroom, or larger unit was advertised for.","q":"How should the bedroom figures and HUD standards be used?"},{"a":"Redfin directly observes ZIP resale activity over a rolling three-month window: sold price, volume, marketing time, inventory, supply, and sale-to-list outcomes. Its 3.5 months of supply translates inventory into recent sales-flow time. None of those resale readings measures rental transactions, determines operating costs, or turns the ZORI-to-price screen into property-level economics.","q":"What does the Redfin resale block, including months of supply, show?"}],"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":"2020-10-01","rent":836.374949},{"period":"2020-11-01","rent":841.988166},{"period":"2020-12-01","rent":834.366557},{"period":"2021-01-01","rent":841.102475},{"period":"2021-02-01","rent":849.474688},{"period":"2021-03-01","rent":864.79258},{"period":"2021-04-01","rent":878.694855},{"period":"2021-05-01","rent":888.764337},{"period":"2021-06-01","rent":903.136632},{"period":"2021-07-01","rent":909.773688},{"period":"2021-08-01","rent":919.06056},{"period":"2021-09-01","rent":924.910545},{"period":"2021-10-01","rent":934.783261},{"period":"2021-11-01","rent":948.363492},{"period":"2021-12-01","rent":976.412237},{"period":"2022-01-01","rent":991.989004},{"period":"2022-02-01","rent":987.885284},{"period":"2022-03-01","rent":984.926612},{"period":"2022-04-01","rent":988.425032},{"period":"2022-05-01","rent":1009.895089},{"period":"2022-06-01","rent":1015.721429},{"period":"2022-07-01","rent":1036.746598},{"period":"2022-08-01","rent":1037.518417},{"period":"2022-09-01","rent":1040.92078},{"period":"2022-10-01","rent":1031.495471},{"period":"2022-11-01","rent":1039.797129},{"period":"2022-12-01","rent":1042.004121},{"period":"2023-01-01","rent":1050.791822},{"period":"2023-02-01","rent":1055.702928},{"period":"2023-03-01","rent":1068.035685},{"period":"2023-04-01","rent":1081.126068},{"period":"2023-05-01","rent":1087.215403},{"period":"2023-06-01","rent":1100.131177},{"period":"2023-07-01","rent":1106.942762},{"period":"2023-08-01","rent":1111.692321},{"period":"2023-09-01","rent":1124.641246},{"period":"2023-10-01","rent":1158.941659},{"period":"2023-11-01","rent":1158.330661},{"period":"2023-12-01","rent":1157.092809},{"period":"2024-01-01","rent":1146.373924},{"period":"2024-02-01","rent":1171.563897},{"period":"2024-03-01","rent":1172.034696},{"period":"2024-04-01","rent":1162.879851},{"period":"2024-05-01","rent":1156.267456},{"period":"2024-06-01","rent":1163.227301},{"period":"2024-07-01","rent":1158.888742},{"period":"2024-08-01","rent":1176.524181},{"period":"2024-09-01","rent":1179.452515},{"period":"2024-10-01","rent":1185.346819},{"period":"2024-11-01","rent":1183.309776},{"period":"2024-12-01","rent":1183.473972},{"period":"2025-01-01","rent":1187.137424},{"period":"2025-02-01","rent":1200.49062},{"period":"2025-03-01","rent":1207.299061},{"period":"2025-04-01","rent":1225.837703},{"period":"2025-05-01","rent":1222.294459},{"period":"2025-06-01","rent":1228.344873},{"period":"2025-07-01","rent":1237.549031},{"period":"2025-08-01","rent":1234.856878},{"period":"2025-09-01","rent":1239.136022},{"period":"2025-10-01","rent":1232.825793},{"period":"2025-11-01","rent":1246.239224},{"period":"2025-12-01","rent":1259.023986},{"period":"2026-01-01","rent":1272.779643},{"period":"2026-02-01","rent":1261.716533},{"period":"2026-03-01","rent":1266.656694},{"period":"2026-04-01","rent":1266.648541},{"period":"2026-05-01","rent":1283.51422},{"period":"2026-06-01","rent":1284.972222}],"historySummary":{"pointCount":69,"firstPeriod":"2020-10-01","latestPeriod":"2026-06-01","coverageMonths":69,"coverageRatio":1,"changes":{"1":{"years":1,"startPeriod":"2025-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1228.344873,"endRent":1284.972222,"change":0.04610052945611165,"cagr":0.04610052945611165},"3":{"years":3,"startPeriod":"2023-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1100.131177,"endRent":1284.972222,"change":0.16801727727056326,"cagr":0.053132678293760005},"5":{"years":5,"startPeriod":"2021-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":903.136632,"endRent":1284.972222,"change":0.4227882874758646,"cagr":0.07307000711947453}},"maxDrawdown":-0.013452878190220341,"annualizedVolatility":0.03021473466722222,"consecutiveReturnCount":68}}