At $1,280, Zillow’s current ZIP-level ZORI for 68506 is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, and it was up 4.0% from the same month a year earlier. The matched Census ZCTA five-year ACS median gross rent was $1,180, placing the current asking-rent index 8.5% higher. A ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. For wider context only, Lincoln city and Lancaster County context rents were each $1,345, while the Lincoln, NE metro context rent was $1,342; those broader values are not ZIP rental comparables.
The rent record points to a stable-growth history rather than a sudden break. Exact same-month ZORI changes annualized to 4.0% over one year, 3.7% over three years, and 5.2% over five years. Thus, the recent direction still confirms the longer upward path, although the latest pace is below the five-year rate and only modestly above the three-year rate. The history has full available coverage with 64 observations. Monthly-return variability annualizes to 2.7%, which supports moderate confidence in the current snapshot as a description of the recent market rather than a highly erratic reading. Its deepest observed drawdown was 1.7%, a limited historical setback but not protection against future changes. Transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs were 659 for momentum, 1,127 for stability, and 496 for the balanced measure, where lower ranks place higher. These are backward-looking measurements, not forecasts or investment recommendations.
The bedroom view is a modelled ladder, not a set of measured bedroom rents. Scaling ZIP ZORI through the local HUD ladder produces modelled monthly estimates of $962 for a studio, $1,021 for one bedroom, $1,280 for two bedrooms, $1,780 for three bedrooms, and $1,920 for four bedrooms. The local HUD FMR/SAFMR standards run from $792 for a studio through $1,581 for four bedrooms. HUD’s bedroom-specific schedule is an administrative standard, not an asking-rent series; it is used here only to shape the ZORI-based estimates. A listing should therefore not be judged against these modelled figures without checking its actual bedroom count, condition, included utilities, lease terms, and asking price.
The affordability screen presents a meaningful counterweight to the otherwise steady rent history. At the 30% arithmetic screen, the current index implies $51,200 of required annual income, compared with a ZCTA median household income of $72,637; annualized asking rent equals 21.1% of that median income. Yet ACS reports that 2,265 of 4,473 occupied renter homes, or 50.6%, had gross-rent burdens at or above the screen threshold. ACS median gross rent is a five-year survey measure of occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities, unlike Zillow asking rent. The burden result describes households in aggregate and cannot establish whether any specific applicant, lease, or available unit is affordable. The income screen is arithmetic, not advice or an applicant qualification rule.
The ZCTA housing base provides scale but not unit-level availability evidence. It contained 13,086 housing units, with a 4.4% vacancy rate and 264 units classified as vacant for rent. Stock was weighted toward 9,168 single-family units, alongside 1,686 units in larger multifamily structures. Those counts frame the mix of housing represented in the area, but they do not show which homes are currently offered, their rents, their condition, or whether their vacancies are usable by a particular household. Similarly, a vacancy classification does not prove that a particular property has an open unit, that an advertised unit is rentable, or that concessions are available.
Redfin’s direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale observation belongs entirely to the for-sale market, not rental transactions. Median sold price was $282,460, up 5.4% year over year, with 135 homes sold and a median marketing time of 17 days. The ZIP had 200 active listings and 1.1 months of supply. Sale-to-list indicators were also firm: the average sale-to-list ratio was 101.7%, 55.8% of sales closed above list, and 53.0% of listings went off market quickly. These resale measures describe observed ZIP sale liquidity and pricing signals; they are not rental comps, lease evidence, property operating economics, or a broader Lincoln-area resale substitute.
The reported annualized-ZORI-to-median-price screening ratio is 5.4%. It is only a cross-source screening ratio made by dividing annualized ZIP ZORI by Redfin median sold price, not a cap rate, net return, expected return, or property yield. Here, resale evidence challenges a simple reading of the rent screen: ZIP asking rent is below the named city, county, and metro asking-rent context, and the household burden share is substantial, while the direct resale record shows rising sold prices, short marketing time, low supply, and frequent above-list outcomes. The signals can coexist because they measure different markets and populations. They should be compared as a tension requiring further property-specific evidence, not combined into a causal conclusion.
Several limits should govern interpretation. Zillow tracks a ZIP asking-rent index, ACS measures occupied renter homes in a matched statistical area and carries survey margins of error, HUD supplies administrative standards, and Redfin observes recent ZIP resales over a rolling period. None of these sources identifies a subject property’s realized rent, recurring expenses, concessions, tenant turnover, financing, repair needs, or legal lease restrictions. Concrete property-level checks should include live comparable listings and leased-rent evidence, unit size and bedroom count, utility responsibility, concession terms, days advertised, condition, renovation scope, sale history, list-price revisions, and closing records. Those checks test whether the broad ZIP signals actually match the property under review.
","findings":[{"body":"Zillow’s current typical asking-rent index stands above ACS median gross rent even though it sits below city, county, and metro asking-rent context. The difference is a source and tenure distinction: ACS describes occupied renter homes with selected utilities, while ZORI tracks observed asks across rental types. Neither series should be treated as a direct replacement for the other.","title":"Current asks exceed occupied-home gross rent"},{"body":"The bedroom ladder is modelled by applying the local HUD bedroom pattern to the ZIP asking-rent index. It is useful for maintaining a consistent studio-through-four-bedroom relationship, but it is not evidence of measured asking rents for each bedroom count. Listing-level rent, unit size, condition, utilities, and concessions remain necessary checks.","title":"Bedroom figures are scaling outputs"},{"body":"The direct ZIP resale observation shows rising sold prices, short marketing periods, limited supply, and strong sale-to-list outcomes. Those signals contrast with the substantial ACS burden share and with asking rent trailing broader-area context. This is a cross-universe tension, not proof that sale-market conditions determine rents or household affordability.","title":"Resale liquidity is firmer than the affordability reading"},{"body":"The available ZORI record shows positive same-month changes over recent and longer intervals, with contained historical variability and a limited observed drawdown. That pattern gives the latest index more context than a single monthly reading, but it remains retrospective. It does not establish future rent movement, future resale conditions, or a property-specific outcome.","title":"History supports continuity, not certainty"}],"risks":["The ZIP asking-rent index is blended across rental types and cannot confirm a subject property’s achievable rent, lease-up pace, concessions, utility treatment, or tenant demand.","ACS burden and gross-rent statistics describe occupied renter households in the matched ZCTA, include survey uncertainty, and cannot demonstrate affordability for a particular unit or applicant.","Redfin resale measures are direct for-sale observations over a rolling period, so strong sale liquidity should not be converted into rental transaction evidence or operating economics.","HUD-based bedroom figures are modelled estimates shaped by an administrative standard; unusual layouts, unit condition, utility obligations, and local listing practices may diverge materially."],"qa":[{"a":"They measure different universes. Zillow ZORI is a ZIP-level typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, while ACS median gross rent is a multi-year survey measure of occupied renter homes in the matched ZCTA and includes selected utilities. The ZCTA is statistical geography rather than an identical USPS delivery ZIP.","q":"Why does the Zillow asking-rent index differ from ACS median gross rent?"},{"a":"No. They are modelled monthly estimates produced by scaling the ZIP ZORI with the local HUD bedroom ladder. HUD FMR or SAFMR is an administrative bedroom-specific standard rather than an asking-rent survey. Actual rents can differ based on unit size, layout, condition, utilities, concessions, and lease structure.","q":"Are the bedroom rent figures observed rents for available units?"},{"a":"It does not directly describe the rental market. Redfin’s ZIP measures track recent for-sale transactions and listings, including sold prices, marketing time, supply, and sale-to-list outcomes. They can provide a separate resale-market context, but they are not lease comparables, tenant-demand measures, or proof of rental operating performance.","q":"What does the resale evidence say about the rental market?"},{"a":"Check current and recently leased comparable units, including bedroom count, square footage, condition, utility responsibility, concessions, application requirements, and time advertised. For a sale-market comparison, verify the subject property’s sale history, list-price changes, closing records, physical condition, repair scope, and whether its location and housing type match the ZIP-level evidence.","q":"What property-level checks would make this ZIP screen more usable?"}],"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":"2021-03-01","rent":969.368493},{"period":"2021-04-01","rent":967.50524},{"period":"2021-05-01","rent":975.470779},{"period":"2021-06-01","rent":993.35102},{"period":"2021-07-01","rent":1013.696307},{"period":"2021-08-01","rent":1030.300362},{"period":"2021-09-01","rent":1032.037425},{"period":"2021-10-01","rent":1054.668139},{"period":"2021-11-01","rent":1068.539138},{"period":"2021-12-01","rent":1080.150952},{"period":"2022-01-01","rent":1068.832465},{"period":"2022-02-01","rent":1068.115375},{"period":"2022-03-01","rent":1076.025452},{"period":"2022-04-01","rent":1100.339324},{"period":"2022-05-01","rent":1117.607943},{"period":"2022-06-01","rent":1123.840407},{"period":"2022-07-01","rent":1117.450736},{"period":"2022-08-01","rent":1109.562143},{"period":"2022-09-01","rent":1110.634193},{"period":"2022-10-01","rent":1113.813331},{"period":"2022-11-01","rent":1123.26864},{"period":"2022-12-01","rent":1137.618468},{"period":"2023-01-01","rent":1138.60737},{"period":"2023-02-01","rent":1133.414038},{"period":"2023-03-01","rent":1129.32949},{"period":"2023-04-01","rent":1139.664502},{"period":"2023-05-01","rent":1145.800148},{"period":"2023-06-01","rent":1147.497143},{"period":"2023-07-01","rent":1140.348239},{"period":"2023-08-01","rent":1153.988197},{"period":"2023-09-01","rent":1162.632577},{"period":"2023-10-01","rent":1168.497846},{"period":"2023-11-01","rent":1171.700535},{"period":"2023-12-01","rent":1171.912426},{"period":"2024-01-01","rent":1187.204999},{"period":"2024-02-01","rent":1181.098228},{"period":"2024-03-01","rent":1190.712048},{"period":"2024-04-01","rent":1181.569865},{"period":"2024-05-01","rent":1181.090327},{"period":"2024-06-01","rent":1181.107223},{"period":"2024-07-01","rent":1193.66297},{"period":"2024-08-01","rent":1199.713668},{"period":"2024-09-01","rent":1204.555223},{"period":"2024-10-01","rent":1209.033782},{"period":"2024-11-01","rent":1203.099597},{"period":"2024-12-01","rent":1188.6547},{"period":"2025-01-01","rent":1193.231142},{"period":"2025-02-01","rent":1212.876494},{"period":"2025-03-01","rent":1222.150393},{"period":"2025-04-01","rent":1219.97427},{"period":"2025-05-01","rent":1218.457775},{"period":"2025-06-01","rent":1231.244699},{"period":"2025-07-01","rent":1235.180639},{"period":"2025-08-01","rent":1234.137261},{"period":"2025-09-01","rent":1235.190203},{"period":"2025-10-01","rent":1236.885742},{"period":"2025-11-01","rent":1246.827},{"period":"2025-12-01","rent":1264.120194},{"period":"2026-01-01","rent":1262.537822},{"period":"2026-02-01","rent":1260.691036},{"period":"2026-03-01","rent":1258.90451},{"period":"2026-04-01","rent":1271.687738},{"period":"2026-05-01","rent":1280.931667},{"period":"2026-06-01","rent":1280.05235}],"historySummary":{"pointCount":64,"firstPeriod":"2021-03-01","latestPeriod":"2026-06-01","coverageMonths":64,"coverageRatio":1,"changes":{"1":{"years":1,"startPeriod":"2025-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1231.244699,"endRent":1280.05235,"change":0.03964090244582641,"cagr":0.03964090244582641},"3":{"years":3,"startPeriod":"2023-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1147.497143,"endRent":1280.05235,"change":0.1155168078706057,"cagr":0.037111315687997415},"5":{"years":5,"startPeriod":"2021-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":993.35102,"endRent":1280.05235,"change":0.28862036100793453,"cagr":0.05202242612180319}},"maxDrawdown":-0.016855676246108287,"annualizedVolatility":0.027374707716068095,"consecutiveReturnCount":63}}