The central measured tension in 75204 is that a $2,062 monthly Zillow asking-rent index sits beside a $527,381 Redfin median sold price, producing a 4.69% annualized rent-price screening ratio, while the direct ZIP resale record shows 52 days on market, 5.2 months of supply, and an average sale-to-list result of 96.92%. That ratio is only annualized ZIP ZORI divided by median sold price across two sources; it is not a cap rate, net return, expected return, or property yield. The resale signals do not describe rental transactions. Instead, they challenge any simple reading of the rent index by showing a for-sale market where the observed median transaction was typically below list and marketing time was material.
Backward-looking Zillow history supports a stable-growth label, but the pace is uneven across horizons. The one-year same-month annualized change was 2.55%, above the three-year measure of 0.71% and broadly aligned with the five-year measure of 3.03%. Recent direction therefore confirms the longer five-year growth path while breaking from the comparatively muted three-year interval. Monthly ZORI movements had 2.28% annualized variability, which supports somewhat more confidence in the current snapshot than a highly erratic series would, but does not make one asking-rent reading definitive. The historical maximum drawdown was 4.31%, showing that declines occurred even within the broader positive path. Coverage was 100%; the transparent national discovery ranks were 388 for stability, 1,633 for momentum, and 861 for the balanced measure, with lower ranks indicating stronger placement. These are measurements of past observations, not forecasts or investment recommendations.
The June 2026 Zillow ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, whereas the ACS 2024 five-year median gross rent was $1,896 for occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. The asking index is 8.76% above that survey median, a source-universe difference rather than proof of a rent change for a particular home. HUD's $2,770 two-bedroom FMR/SAFMR is an administrative bedroom-specific standard, not asking rent. Scaling ZIP ZORI with the local HUD bedroom ladder produces modelled estimates, never measured bedroom rents: $1,690 for a studio, $1,757 for one bedroom, $2,062 for two bedrooms, $2,598 for three bedrooms, and $3,298 for four bedrooms. Those estimates preserve HUD's local bedroom relationship; they do not replace unit-level listings or executed leases.
The income screen is relatively close to the ZIP's reported household midpoint, but it should not be mistaken for an applicant test. ACS reports median household income of $92,253, while a 30% arithmetic screen on the current asking-rent index implies $82,480 of annual income. Annualized asking rent represents 26.82% of that median income in this simple comparison. Separately, 39.84% of ACS renter households reported paying 30% or more of income toward gross rent, and renters account for 81.39% of occupied homes. The burden measure is a survey statistic across occupied renter households, including its gross-rent definition, and cannot establish affordability, utility costs, or qualification for any one unit. The 30% screen is arithmetic, not advice or an applicant qualification rule.
The matched ACS housing profile is renter-heavy and concentrated in larger multifamily structures. Of 24,499 housing units, 16,521 were in large multifamily buildings; the overall vacancy rate was 12.09%, including 1,912 vacant units identified as for rent. That inventory snapshot cannot prove that a given apartment is available, discounted, or suitable. For wider context only, Dallas city context had a $1,618.11 rent index and a 9.54% vacancy rate, Dallas County context had a $1,646 rent index, and the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro context had a $1,673 rent index. Each comparison is a broader-geography context value, not a ZIP rental comparable. The ZIP's higher asking-rent index alongside its higher vacancy measure is a useful tension to investigate rather than evidence of a particular concession pattern.
Redfin provides the direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale observation, not rental market evidence. It recorded 355 active listings and 109 homes sold, with inventory of 188 homes declining 18.55% year over year. Median sold price rose 1.23% year over year, yet only 8.50% of sales closed above list. Together with the days-on-market, months-of-supply, and sale-to-list figures, these are resale liquidity and pricing signals rather than evidence about tenant demand or rent collection. The inventory decline and modest sold-price increase partly confirm that the resale market was still transacting, but below-list average pricing and the rent-price screen keep the for-sale reading from providing a simple confirmation of the current asking-rent snapshot.
The five-digit label 75204 is both a Zillow ZIP market identifier and a Census ZCTA match. A ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. That distinction matters because Zillow, ACS, HUD, and Redfin each observe different populations, time windows, and definitions. Zillow reflects asking-rent conditions; ACS reflects a five-year survey of occupied homes; HUD supplies an administrative standard; and Redfin observes closed for-sale activity. Neither the close alignment of the current income screen nor the history's complete coverage resolves those scope differences. The strongest reading is therefore comparative: current asking rent is above the ACS gross-rent median, long-run rent history is positive but not uniform, and resale evidence remains a separate market record.
Property-level interpretation needs checks that these ZIP-wide measures cannot supply. A reader would need the actual bedroom count, unit size, asking date, lease duration, utility treatment, availability status, concessions, condition, and directly comparable active listings before applying the modelled ladder or ACS benchmark to a specific home. A resale review would also need the relevant property's sale price, listing history, and transaction terms rather than the ZIP median. The evidence supports tracking the gap between the asking-rent index, gross-rent survey result, and resale screen; it does not establish a property's rent, vacancy, expenses, value, or transaction outcome. The practical unresolved question is whether a specific available unit matches the source definitions behind these broad ZIP measurements.
","findings":[{"body":"The one-year Zillow rent change exceeded the three-year annualized change and was close to the five-year pace. That pattern supports recent recovery within a longer stable-growth record, rather than uninterrupted acceleration. Low measured variability and a limited historical drawdown improve confidence in trend interpretation, but they do not turn the current asking-rent index into a forecast.","title":"Rent history is positive, but the recent pace is not the whole story"},{"body":"Annualized ZIP ZORI divided by Redfin's median sold price produces a useful cross-source screening ratio. It cannot identify operating costs, financing, taxes, insurance, maintenance, vacancy at a specific property, or lease terms. Redfin's below-list average sale signal and marketing time also belong solely to the direct ZIP resale universe, not the rental universe.","title":"The rent-to-price figure is a screen, not property economics"},{"body":"The arithmetic income threshold for spending 30% of income on the current asking-rent index is below the ZIP's ACS median household income. At the same time, a substantial share of renter households reported gross-rent burdens at or above that threshold. The difference reflects household circumstances and source definitions; it cannot determine affordability for a particular applicant or apartment.","title":"Affordability indicators point in different directions"},{"body":"The ACS profile shows a large renter base, substantial multifamily stock, and a notable share of vacant units, including units classified as for rent. Those data help frame ZIP-wide supply conditions but do not indicate which homes are available, their effective rents, their condition, or whether concessions are offered. Current listing-level verification remains necessary.","title":"Supply context requires unit-level confirmation"}],"risks":["Zillow asking-rent index values, ACS gross-rent survey values, HUD administrative standards, and Redfin resale observations use different universes, so apparent gaps should not be interpreted as direct evidence of a specific unit's rent or value.","The modelled bedroom estimates inherit the local HUD bedroom ladder but are not measured asking rents. A unit's actual rent can differ because bedroom count alone does not capture size, lease terms, utilities, availability, or listing timing.","Historical rent growth, variability, drawdown, and discovery ranks are backward-looking measurements. They do not forecast future rents, resale prices, leasing velocity, tenant demand, or the financial outcome of holding a particular property.","ZIP vacancy and rent-burden statistics describe broad ACS survey populations and cannot prove availability, concessions, resident payment stress, or affordability at a particular address, building, floor plan, or lease date."],"qa":[{"a":"The five-digit 75204 label serves as Zillow's ZIP market identifier and is matched to a Census ZCTA for ACS reporting. A ZCTA is a statistical area, not the same thing as a USPS delivery ZIP. This means ACS estimates are useful matched context, but they are not a literal census of the ZIP rental listings represented by Zillow.","q":"Why does the report distinguish the ZIP label from the Census geography?"},{"a":"No. The studio through four-bedroom figures are modelled estimates created by scaling the ZIP Zillow asking-rent index using the local HUD bedroom ladder. They reflect a proportional framework, not observed bedroom-specific listings, signed leases, or transaction records. Unit size, utility treatment, lease timing, and actual availability require listing-level checks.","q":"Are the bedroom rent figures observed rents for studio through four-bedroom homes?"},{"a":"It divides annualized ZIP Zillow ZORI by Redfin's ZIP median sold price. The calculation is a cross-source screening ratio only. It excludes expenses, financing, taxes, insurance, repairs, vacancy outcomes, and property-specific purchase terms, so it must not be treated as a cap rate, property yield, net return, or expected return.","q":"What does the rent-price screening ratio measure?"},{"a":"No. The screen is a mathematical comparison between the current monthly asking-rent index and an annual income level under a 30% threshold. It is not lending, leasing, or applicant-qualification guidance. The ACS burden statistic is also population-level survey evidence and cannot establish a particular household's income, expenses, eligibility, or housing choice.","q":"Does the 30% required-income screen show that a household can afford a unit?"}],"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":"2015-01-01","rent":1433.600067},{"period":"2015-02-01","rent":1437.063837},{"period":"2015-03-01","rent":1466.131777},{"period":"2015-04-01","rent":1476.382945},{"period":"2015-05-01","rent":1488.126977},{"period":"2015-06-01","rent":1477.0346},{"period":"2015-07-01","rent":1485.903912},{"period":"2015-08-01","rent":1502.529667},{"period":"2015-09-01","rent":1513.208175},{"period":"2015-10-01","rent":1507.36927},{"period":"2015-11-01","rent":1498.309179},{"period":"2015-12-01","rent":1508.456862},{"period":"2016-01-01","rent":1516.275166},{"period":"2016-02-01","rent":1527.16813},{"period":"2016-03-01","rent":1518.191388},{"period":"2016-04-01","rent":1537.029858},{"period":"2016-05-01","rent":1545.046827},{"period":"2016-06-01","rent":1567.99504},{"period":"2016-07-01","rent":1582.088963},{"period":"2016-08-01","rent":1584.685981},{"period":"2016-09-01","rent":1600.404934},{"period":"2016-10-01","rent":1618.162074},{"period":"2016-11-01","rent":1628.119762},{"period":"2016-12-01","rent":1626.866931},{"period":"2017-01-01","rent":1616.335728},{"period":"2017-02-01","rent":1595.890698},{"period":"2017-03-01","rent":1605.127854},{"period":"2017-04-01","rent":1606.419249},{"period":"2017-05-01","rent":1629.275743},{"period":"2017-06-01","rent":1628.426884},{"period":"2017-07-01","rent":1633.591348},{"period":"2017-08-01","rent":1625.507721},{"period":"2017-09-01","rent":1619.377533},{"period":"2017-10-01","rent":1613.537926},{"period":"2017-11-01","rent":1627.192184},{"period":"2017-12-01","rent":1645.139271},{"period":"2018-01-01","rent":1654.918785},{"period":"2018-02-01","rent":1670.494767},{"period":"2018-03-01","rent":1660.752115},{"period":"2018-04-01","rent":1660.807351},{"period":"2018-05-01","rent":1649.60593},{"period":"2018-06-01","rent":1656.511237},{"period":"2018-07-01","rent":1657.976081},{"period":"2018-08-01","rent":1654.098362},{"period":"2018-09-01","rent":1650.640644},{"period":"2018-10-01","rent":1654.226808},{"period":"2018-11-01","rent":1656.037688},{"period":"2018-12-01","rent":1653.511861},{"period":"2019-01-01","rent":1670.423846},{"period":"2019-02-01","rent":1669.358799},{"period":"2019-03-01","rent":1681.505151},{"period":"2019-04-01","rent":1684.676486},{"period":"2019-05-01","rent":1687.811429},{"period":"2019-06-01","rent":1685.860566},{"period":"2019-07-01","rent":1685.836048},{"period":"2019-08-01","rent":1697.622982},{"period":"2019-09-01","rent":1705.431927},{"period":"2019-10-01","rent":1707.270196},{"period":"2019-11-01","rent":1702.064701},{"period":"2019-12-01","rent":1698.973288},{"period":"2020-01-01","rent":1686.246089},{"period":"2020-02-01","rent":1685.880943},{"period":"2020-03-01","rent":1686.992541},{"period":"2020-04-01","rent":1695.269427},{"period":"2020-05-01","rent":1672.867847},{"period":"2020-06-01","rent":1654.734759},{"period":"2020-07-01","rent":1635.023677},{"period":"2020-08-01","rent":1633.69634},{"period":"2020-09-01","rent":1641.97329},{"period":"2020-10-01","rent":1651.033045},{"period":"2020-11-01","rent":1657.378867},{"period":"2020-12-01","rent":1653.464808},{"period":"2021-01-01","rent":1665.924619},{"period":"2021-02-01","rent":1685.580827},{"period":"2021-03-01","rent":1711.974289},{"period":"2021-04-01","rent":1724.649083},{"period":"2021-05-01","rent":1744.604672},{"period":"2021-06-01","rent":1776.046875},{"period":"2021-07-01","rent":1812.163774},{"period":"2021-08-01","rent":1847.630615},{"period":"2021-09-01","rent":1870.796126},{"period":"2021-10-01","rent":1890.378963},{"period":"2021-11-01","rent":1903.123899},{"period":"2021-12-01","rent":1932.840926},{"period":"2022-01-01","rent":1953.024838},{"period":"2022-02-01","rent":1977.565094},{"period":"2022-03-01","rent":1969.047423},{"period":"2022-04-01","rent":1981.925581},{"period":"2022-05-01","rent":1995.463032},{"period":"2022-06-01","rent":2025.939451},{"period":"2022-07-01","rent":2039.567664},{"period":"2022-08-01","rent":2036.335908},{"period":"2022-09-01","rent":2032.893468},{"period":"2022-10-01","rent":2027.370181},{"period":"2022-11-01","rent":2030.742844},{"period":"2022-12-01","rent":2033.904696},{"period":"2023-01-01","rent":2029.096344},{"period":"2023-02-01","rent":2018.347605},{"period":"2023-03-01","rent":2026.906675},{"period":"2023-04-01","rent":2028.911688},{"period":"2023-05-01","rent":2035.045871},{"period":"2023-06-01","rent":2018.485151},{"period":"2023-07-01","rent":2016.672785},{"period":"2023-08-01","rent":2010.665637},{"period":"2023-09-01","rent":2008.512381},{"period":"2023-10-01","rent":2004.889875},{"period":"2023-11-01","rent":1998.165687},{"period":"2023-12-01","rent":1992.147924},{"period":"2024-01-01","rent":1992.459976},{"period":"2024-02-01","rent":1985.865478},{"period":"2024-03-01","rent":1979.807465},{"period":"2024-04-01","rent":1973.704209},{"period":"2024-05-01","rent":1976.752547},{"period":"2024-06-01","rent":1974.6686},{"period":"2024-07-01","rent":1980.00415},{"period":"2024-08-01","rent":1985.095895},{"period":"2024-09-01","rent":1988.455736},{"period":"2024-10-01","rent":1987.92488},{"period":"2024-11-01","rent":1990.247986},{"period":"2024-12-01","rent":1984.500933},{"period":"2025-01-01","rent":1985.829515},{"period":"2025-02-01","rent":1983.6303},{"period":"2025-03-01","rent":1994.605923},{"period":"2025-04-01","rent":2001.867588},{"period":"2025-05-01","rent":2007.825266},{"period":"2025-06-01","rent":2010.478477},{"period":"2025-07-01","rent":2008.085035},{"period":"2025-08-01","rent":2011.15272},{"period":"2025-09-01","rent":2014.292701},{"period":"2025-10-01","rent":2021.672863},{"period":"2025-11-01","rent":2026.992022},{"period":"2025-12-01","rent":2037.8369},{"period":"2026-01-01","rent":2042.281288},{"period":"2026-02-01","rent":2053.887217},{"period":"2026-03-01","rent":2052.496267},{"period":"2026-04-01","rent":2054.933491},{"period":"2026-05-01","rent":2053.658437},{"period":"2026-06-01","rent":2061.729258}],"historySummary":{"pointCount":138,"firstPeriod":"2015-01-01","latestPeriod":"2026-06-01","coverageMonths":138,"coverageRatio":1,"changes":{"1":{"years":1,"startPeriod":"2025-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":2010.478477,"endRent":2061.729258,"change":0.025491832708637308,"cagr":0.025491832708637308},"3":{"years":3,"startPeriod":"2023-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":2018.485151,"endRent":2061.729258,"change":0.02142404019101929,"cagr":0.007090946362174},"5":{"years":5,"startPeriod":"2021-06-01","endPeriod":"2026-06-01","startRent":1776.046875,"endRent":2061.729258,"change":0.1608529521497004,"cagr":0.03028040978344304}},"maxDrawdown":-0.043094441742366096,"annualizedVolatility":0.02283598080399921,"consecutiveReturnCount":137}}