At $3,428 in the reported current month, Zillow’s ZIP-level ZORI is the central asking-rent signal, but it sits against a sharp affordability tension. ZORI is a typical observed asking-rent index blended across rental types, rather than a quote for one available home. Its level is far above the matched Census ZCTA median gross rent of $1,730; that survey covers occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. The 11225 label 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. Those geographic and product distinctions matter before treating either benchmark as a unit-specific rent.
The ACS 2024 five-year survey describes occupied renter homes, and its median gross rent of $1,730 includes selected utilities. It therefore is not a current asking-rent series and should not be substituted for ZORI. FY2026 HUD FMR/SAFMR values are administrative, bedroom-specific standards rather than asking rent. The supplied local HUD ladder sets the relative bedroom scaling: it converts the ZIP ZORI into modelled monthly estimates of $2,487 for a studio, $2,884 for one bedroom, $3,428 for two bedrooms, $4,199 for three bedrooms, and $4,838 for four bedrooms. Each bedroom figure is a modelled estimate, never a measured bedroom rent or a listing quote.
The history is decisive on direction but not predictive. Exact same-month ZORI change was 6.82% over 1 year, 4.27% annualized over 3 years, and 6.84% annualized over 5 years at the stated endpoint of June 1, 2026. The recent pace nearly matches the long-run pace and is above the intermediate pace, so it confirms rather than breaks from the longer measured rise. These are backward-looking measurements, not forecasts or investment recommendations. Coverage is 100%. In transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs, where lower rank is higher, momentum ranked 260, stability 1,755, and the balanced measure 506. Annualized monthly-return variability measured 3.08%, but maximum drawdown was a 10.18% decline. The limited variability supports more confidence in the current snapshot than a highly erratic series would, while the drawdown still warns that a single observation is temporally sensitive.
The affordability screen brings the present index into tension with household-level ACS measures. Applying the 30% rule mechanically to $3,428 per month produces required annual income of $137,120. This is arithmetic, not advice and not an applicant qualification rule. The matched ZCTA median household income is $88,568; annualized ZORI represents 46.45% of that amount. Separately, 44.82% of occupied renter households reported rent burdens of 30% or more in the ACS survey. The income statistic covers households generally, while the burden statistic covers renter households. Neither population measure proves the cost, income, burden, or eligibility of an individual household or a particular unit.
ACS stock metrics indicate a renter-dominant aggregate housing base rather than a direct listing inventory. Renter households account for 80.30% of occupied units in the matched ZCTA, and the all-unit vacancy rate is 6.95%. The structure count includes 16,266 units in large multifamily buildings alongside single-family units, describing stock composition rather than rent quality or lease availability. The packet separately reports vacancies for rent, sale, and seasonal use. Consequently, neither the overall vacancy rate nor the renter share establishes whether a particular building has an available unit, what it asks, or what its utilities and lease terms contain.
Wider geographies frame the ZIP but cannot replace it. In the New York city context, the asking-rent benchmark is $4,133; in Kings County context, the asking-rent benchmark is $3,808; and in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA metro context, the asking-rent benchmark is $3,573. All three context measures exceed the ZIP’s current index, with the city gap visibly widest. Each is a wider-area context series, not a ZIP listing set or a claim about a specific building. Their wider geographic and survey scopes make them comparison frames rather than interchangeable local rents.
Resale market evidence presents a different tension. Redfin’s direct rolling-three-month ZIP for-sale observation reports a median sold price of $1,129,745, up 25.86% year over year. It recorded 27 homes sold, a median 78 days on market, inventory of 58 homes, and 6.6 months of supply. The average sale-to-list result was 97.46%, while 30.8% of sales closed above list; these are for-sale execution signals, never rental transactions or rental comps. Annualized ZIP ZORI divided by that median sold price is 3.64%, solely a cross-source screening ratio, not a cap rate, net return, expected return, or property yield. The resale price change is much faster than the latest rent change, yet the marketing time, supply, and below-list average do not depict uniformly rapid resale execution. That contrast challenges any simple reading from rent momentum or the household-income screen alone.
These benchmarks have deliberately different units, time windows, and target populations. ZORI is a blended asking-rent index, ACS is a five-year occupied-renter survey with selected utilities, HUD is an administrative standard, and Redfin covers resales. None establishes a unit’s contract rent or property economics. Property-level review would need the actual asking rent, bedroom count and layout, listing date, availability status, lease length, included utilities, and any concessions; a resale review would need the specific property’s sale history, comparable transaction details, and listing status. Those checks test whether a unit resembles the broad benchmarks without converting them into forecasts, recommendations, or proof of availability. The unresolved question is whether the terms and configuration of a specific available unit align with these separate evidence universes.