ZIP 80218 presents a split between a notably softer for-sale signal and only modest asking-rent cooling. In Redfin’s direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale observation, the median sold price was $539,878, down 5.94% year over year. Zillow’s current ZIP asking-rent index, by contrast, was $1,507 and declined 1.66% over the same broad year-over-year framing. The price movement is not rental evidence, and the rent index is not a resale valuation; together, they simply show that the resale pullback was sharper than the current observed asking-rent decline. This is the central measured tension for a reader comparing the ZIP’s current rent snapshot with its housing-market backdrop.
The Zillow rent history describes cooling, not a forecast. The one-year exact same-month annualized change was -1.66%, the three-year measure was -1.02% annually, and the five-year measure remained positive at 1.79% annually. Thus, recent direction confirms the shorter three-year cooling path but breaks from the longer five-year expansion. History coverage was 100% across 127 observations, supporting a complete lookback rather than an intermittently observed series. Monthly moves imply 1.95% annualized variability, which supports somewhat more confidence that one current index reading is not dominated by abrupt month-to-month noise. Still, the maximum drawdown of 4.67% shows that the index has undergone a meaningful cumulative decline. Transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs were 2,746 for momentum, 107 for stability, and 1,856 for the balanced measure; lower ranks are stronger. These backward-looking measurements are neither forecasts nor investment recommendations.
The five-digit 80218 label is both Zillow’s ZIP market identifier and a Census ZCTA match. A ZCTA is a statistical area and is not identical to a USPS delivery ZIP. Zillow ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, whereas the ACS 2024 five-year estimate is a survey of occupied renter homes. The matched ZCTA’s median gross rent was $1,534 with a $76 margin of error, and gross rent includes selected utilities. That survey median sits 1.8% above the current asking-rent index, a close but not interchangeable comparison because the samples, timing, rental types, occupancy status, and utility treatment differ.
Bedroom figures should be read as modelled estimates, not measured bedroom rents. They scale the ZIP ZORI through the local HUD bedroom ladder, producing estimates of $1,185 for a studio, $1,265 for one bedroom, $1,507 for two bedrooms, $1,972 for three bedrooms, and $2,200 for four bedrooms. The local HUD two-bedroom FMR/SAFMR standard is $2,089. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard rather than an asking-rent observation, so the gap between the modelled two-bedroom figure and HUD’s standard does not identify a bargain, concession, or program outcome for a particular unit. The ladder is useful for consistent sizing of the ZIP index, while actual listings require their own verification.
Income and burden data add a separate household screen. The ZCTA median household income estimate was $81,706, with a $3,946 margin of error. Applying the current ZIP asking-rent index to a 30% gross-income screen produces required annual income of $60,280. That calculation is arithmetic only: it is not affordability advice and not an applicant qualification rule. ACS estimates that 3,252 renter households were burdened at 30% or more of income, equal to 38.7% of renter households. This burden share describes surveyed occupied renter households, not the circumstances of a specific applicant, lease, or available apartment. It should therefore be considered alongside, rather than substituted for, income documentation, lease terms, utilities, and actual advertised rent.
The matched ZCTA had 13,330 housing units, including 796 vacant units, for a 6.0% vacancy rate in the ACS survey. Renters occupied a 67.0% share of occupied homes, and the housing stock included 6,099 units in larger multifamily structures. Of vacant homes, 387 were classified as available for rent. These counts help describe the survey-era stock and occupancy mix, but they are not live leasing inventory and do not establish the vacancy, condition, pricing, or availability of any particular property. Likewise, the renter share does not indicate lease turnover or the mix of units represented by Zillow’s blended asking-rent index.
For wider context only, the City of Denver context asking-rent index was $1,877, the Denver County context asking-rent index was $1,889, and the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO metro context asking-rent index was $1,930. Those city, county, and metro figures are broader-geography context, not ZIP observations. Redfin’s direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale evidence recorded 80 homes sold, a median 37 days on market, 140 homes of inventory, and 5.3 months of supply. Its sale-to-list signals were 98.34% on average, with 9.0% sold above list and 32.0% off market within two weeks. These are for-sale market measures, not rental transactions or rental comparables. Annualized ZIP ZORI divided by the Redfin median sold price creates a 3.35% cross-source screening ratio only; it has no implication about property-level income or return. The sharper resale retreat and measured sale-market liquidity challenge any simple reading of the relatively low rent variability or household screen as a complete market signal.
The most important limits are therefore source scope, timing, and aggregation. ZORI cannot replace unit-specific asking-rent checks; ACS cannot establish a current vacancy or renter burden for one address; HUD standards cannot serve as observed market rent; and Redfin resale data cannot provide rental transaction evidence. Concrete property-level checks should compare the advertised rent with the exact bedroom count, lease duration, included utilities, concessions, condition, availability date, and comparable current listings. For a purchase-side review, confirm property type, sale date, list history, and the relevance of nearby closed sales separately from the ZIP median. The unresolved question is whether the specific unit’s current terms align with the modelled rent ladder and with the broader, cooling but still relatively stable ZIP rent history.
","findings":[{"body":"The one-year and three-year Zillow history measures are both negative, while the five-year measure remains positive. That pattern indicates a current cooling phase layered onto a longer expansion period. Complete history coverage and low measured variability make the current rent reading more interpretable than an isolated observation, although the maximum drawdown confirms that the decline has been material rather than purely monthly noise.","title":"Rent cooling is persistent across shorter horizons"},{"body":"The studio-through-four-bedroom figures are modelled estimates created by scaling ZIP ZORI with the local HUD ladder. They are useful for placing a blended ZIP asking-rent index into a consistent bedroom framework. They do not measure advertised or signed rents for those bedroom types, and HUD’s administrative standards should not be interpreted as current asking-rent comparables.","title":"Bedroom rents are a scaling model, not leasing evidence"},{"body":"The ACS household-income estimate exceeds the arithmetic income screen created from the ZIP asking-rent index, while the renter burden share remains substantial. The ZCTA also has a renter-majority occupancy profile and a measurable survey vacancy rate. Neither burden nor vacancy establishes the affordability, availability, or terms of a particular apartment, but both define the household and stock context around the index.","title":"Survey affordability indicators are less strained than city context"},{"body":"Redfin’s direct ZIP resale data show a year-over-year median sold-price decline alongside several months of supply and below-list average sale outcomes. That for-sale evidence is distinct from rental data, but it creates an important tension: resale conditions weakened more sharply than the asking-rent index. The annualized-rent-to-price figure is only a cross-source screening ratio and cannot describe property economics.","title":"Resale evidence is softer than the rent signal"}],"risks":["Zillow ZORI blends observed asking rents across rental types, so it may not match the bedroom mix, utility treatment, quality, lease term, or concession structure of a specific available unit.","ACS results are five-year survey estimates for occupied renter homes and carry margins of error, so their gross-rent, income, vacancy, and burden measures are not live market conditions.","The historical rent series is complete and relatively stable, but its cooling measures and drawdown are backward-looking; they do not establish future asking rents, tenant demand, or future market direction.","Redfin resale observations concern closed for-sale transactions rather than rentals, while the screening ratio omits operating costs, financing, taxes, maintenance, vacancy experience, and property-specific lease economics."],"qa":[{"a":"They measure different evidence universes. Zillow ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, while ACS median gross rent is a five-year survey estimate for occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. Different timing, household samples, utility treatment, and rental composition can all produce a gap without establishing that either series is incorrect.","q":"Why does the ACS median gross rent differ from Zillow’s asking-rent index?"},{"a":"No. The bedroom values are modelled estimates generated by applying the local HUD bedroom ladder to ZIP ZORI. They provide a consistent way to scale a blended asking-rent index by unit size, but they do not observe advertisements, signed leases, concessions, utility charges, or the quality of a specific studio, one-bedroom, or larger apartment.","q":"Are the bedroom estimates actual rents for studios, one-bedroom, or larger units?"},{"a":"It is a simple arithmetic conversion of the current ZIP asking-rent index into gross annual income required for rent to equal 30% of income. It is not affordability advice, a lending standard, or an applicant qualification rule. Actual household affordability depends on verified income, other obligations, utilities, household size, lease structure, and the specific unit’s rent.","q":"What does the 30% required-income screen mean?"},{"a":"Redfin provides direct ZIP rolling-three-month evidence about the for-sale market, including sold prices, marketing time, inventory, supply, and sale-to-list outcomes. Those observations are not rental transactions. Dividing annualized ZIP ZORI by median sold price produces only a cross-source screening ratio; it does not incorporate property-level expenses, financing, taxes, maintenance, or lease-specific revenue.","q":"How should the Redfin resale statistics and screening ratio be used?"}],"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 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