Rental and resale signals create a sharp cross-source tension in 43212. The current ZIP Zillow ZORI is $1,541 per month, a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types rather than a quote for a specific home. In the direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale observation, Redfin reports a $564,872 median sold price and a 4.13% year-over-year price increase. Annualized ZIP ZORI divided by that sold-price median equals a 3.27% cross-source screening ratio. It is not a property return measure because the rent index and sold-price statistic describe different markets and do not include property operating costs.
The asking-rent index rose 2.9% over the latest year. For wider context only, the City of Columbus asking-rent context is $1,456.49, Franklin County asking-rent context is $1,510, and the Columbus, OH metro asking-rent context is $1,528; none is a substitute for the ZIP observation. The matched Census ZCTA ACS five-year survey reports $1,428 median gross rent, which covers occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. That survey measure sits 7.9% below current ZIP ZORI, a difference consistent with their unlike universes: current observed asking rents versus surveyed rents in occupied homes. The five-digit Zillow ZIP market label also matches a Census ZCTA, but a ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP.
The longer Zillow history remains upward, but the recent pace is slower. Exact same-month annualized change was 2.90% over one year, versus 3.56% over three years and 4.57% over five years. Thus, recent direction confirms the longer positive path rather than breaking from it, while also indicating cooling relative to the earlier growth rates. History has full coverage across 102 observations. Its 2.75% annualized monthly-return variability indicates that month-to-month rent-index changes have not been perfectly smooth, so one current observation deserves measured confidence rather than literal treatment as every listing’s rent. Separately, the maximum drawdown was 2.92%, documenting a historical decline within the otherwise positive path. Transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs were 893 for momentum, 1,146 for stability, and 679 for the balanced measure; lower ranks are stronger and these are backward-looking discovery tools, not forecasts.
The bedroom view is a set of modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents. Scaling ZIP ZORI through the local HUD administrative bedroom ladder produces monthly estimates of $1,200 for a studio, $1,287 for one bedroom, $1,541 for two bedrooms, $1,843 for three bedrooms, and $2,077 for four bedrooms. HUD’s local two-bedroom standard is $1,580, placing the modelled two-bedroom estimate at 97.5% of that standard. HUD FMR or SAFMR is a bedroom-specific administrative standard, not asking rent, while the Zillow index is blended across rental types. The ladder is therefore useful for maintaining local bedroom proportions around the ZIP index, not for claiming that each modeled figure was directly observed in listings.
On a simple income screen, the ZIP’s ACS median household income is $77,257. Applying the arithmetic 30% gross-income threshold to the current $1,541 monthly asking-rent index produces a required annual income of $61,640. That comparison suggests the ZIP-level median household income exceeds the screen, but it is not advice, an applicant qualification rule, or evidence about an individual household. ACS reports 3,782 rent-burdened renter households out of 8,662 renter households, a 43.7% share paying at least 30% of income toward rent. This burden statistic describes surveyed households collectively and cannot establish affordability, payment history, or rent burden for any particular unit.
The housing base contains both smaller-scale and larger multifamily structures: 4,454 single-family units and 4,715 units in large multifamily buildings. Renter occupancy represents 68.2% of occupied homes, making the renter survey and asking-rent measures particularly relevant to the ZIP’s occupied stock while still measuring different populations. The overall vacancy rate is 8.0%, and some vacant homes are specifically classified as available for rent. Vacancy is a stock-status measurement, however, not proof that a particular advertised unit is available, competitively priced, or suitable for a specific renter. Likewise, the stock mix does not identify unit condition, lease terms, utilities, or bedroom distribution at an address.
Resale liquidity supplies a counterweight to the moderated rent-growth path. Redfin’s direct ZIP for-sale observation recorded 92 homes sold with a median 33 days on market, 62 homes of inventory, and 2.1 months of supply. The average sale-to-list ratio was 101.23%, another for-sale signal that must remain in the resale universe. Higher sold prices and a sale-to-list ratio above list coexist with positive but decelerating rent-index growth and a meaningful renter-burden share. That tension challenges any shortcut from tight resale activity to a conclusion about asking-rent acceleration or household affordability. It also reinforces why the 3.27% rent-price screen is only a cross-source comparison, not an estimate of transaction-level rental economics.
These measurements have practical limits. Zillow ZORI does not replace current address-level asking rents; ACS does not measure newly marketed homes; HUD standards do not establish market rent; and Redfin’s rolling resale data do not represent rental transactions. Property-level validation should compare active unit advertisements by bedroom, stated utility treatment, lease term, concessions, and condition with the modelled ladder, then separately review relevant sale records, listing histories, and marketing periods when resale context matters. Survey margins of error, mixed rental types, and changing listing composition also limit precision. The evidence describes past and current measurement windows rather than a forecast or recommendation. Which documented unit-level rent terms and sale comparables actually match the assumptions embedded in these ZIP-level screens?
","findings":[{"body":"Current ZIP Zillow ZORI is $1,541, while matched ZCTA ACS median gross rent is $1,428. The 7.9% difference should not be read as a pricing error. ZORI is a current typical asking-rent index across rental types, whereas ACS is a five-year survey of occupied renter homes that includes selected utilities. The comparison signals different timing, household, and utility-treatment universes.","title":"Asking rent exceeds the occupied-home survey benchmark"},{"body":"Same-month rent growth was positive over one, three, and five years, but the latest annual pace of 2.90% trails the longer annualized rates. Monthly-return variability and the recorded drawdown show that the historical path was not a straight line. Full observation coverage supports the completeness of the history series, but it does not convert historical measurements into a future rent forecast.","title":"Growth remains positive but has cooled"},{"body":"The studio-through-four-bedroom figures scale the ZIP asking-rent index using the local HUD bedroom ladder. They provide a consistent modeled structure around the blended ZIP index, including a two-bedroom estimate near the applicable HUD standard. They are not measured asking rents by bedroom, and HUD FMR or SAFMR remains an administrative standard rather than a direct market-rent observation.","title":"Bedroom figures are modeled through HUD proportions"},{"body":"Redfin’s ZIP resale data show rising median sold prices, a sale-to-list ratio above 100%, limited months of supply, and active transaction volume. Those are direct for-sale observations, not rental comps. Their strength contrasts with rent growth that remains positive but slower than its longer-run pace, making the rental-resale relationship a screening tension rather than evidence of a single market outcome.","title":"For-sale conditions are firmer than the rent-growth signal"}],"risks":["Current Zillow ZORI is blended across rental types and may not match the bedroom count, utility package, lease structure, condition, or concessions attached to any individual advertised residence.","ACS median gross rent and rent-burden results are survey estimates for occupied renter homes over a five-year period. They cannot determine current affordability, payment burden, or availability for a specific household or unit.","HUD bedroom standards support the modeled ladder but are administrative benchmarks, not direct asking-rent observations. A local standard can differ from current listings because the two measures serve different purposes.","Redfin resale figures describe completed for-sale activity in a rolling ZIP window. Median sold prices, supply, marketing time, and sale-to-list signals should not be used as rental transactions or property-level operating economics."],"qa":[{"a":"The current figure is Zillow ZORI for the ZIP, a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types. It is useful for tracking the asking-rent market at ZIP scope, but it is not an executed lease rent, a utility-inclusive quote, or a measured rent for a particular bedroom count.","q":"What does the current ZIP rent figure measure?"},{"a":"The measures cover different evidence universes. ACS is a five-year survey of occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities, while Zillow ZORI reflects a current asking-rent index. Differences in timing, occupancy status, rental mix, and utility inclusion can produce a gap without showing that either source is incorrect.","q":"Why is ACS median gross rent lower than Zillow ZORI?"},{"a":"The required-income figure simply annualizes the current monthly asking-rent index and divides it by 30% of gross income. It is arithmetic for comparing ZIP-level values. It is not financial advice, a tenant-screening standard, an applicant qualification rule, or proof that any household can afford a particular lease.","q":"How should the required-income screen be read?"},{"a":"No. Redfin provides direct ZIP resale observations, including sold prices, supply, days on market, and sale-to-list behavior. The bedroom figures are modeled from Zillow ZORI using the HUD ladder. Because resale and rental evidence describe different transactions and different measures, they should be evaluated separately before any address-level comparison.","q":"Do the Redfin sale statistics validate the modeled bedroom rents?"}],"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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