At a current $2,042 monthly asking-rent reading, the central tension in this ZIP is that the index sits about 30% above the matched ACS median gross-rent measure even as its most recent rent direction is negative. The arithmetic income screen at 30% of gross income is $81,680 annually, below the reported $95,922 median household income; annualized asking rent equals 25.5% of that income benchmark. This is a comparison of area-level measures, not evidence that a particular household can afford a particular unit. The required-income screen is arithmetic only, not advice and not an applicant qualification rule.
History complicates any simple current-rent reading. The one-year exact same-month change was -1.0%, while the three-year measure was +1.6% annualized and the five-year measure was +3.9% annualized. Recent direction therefore breaks from, rather than confirms, the positive longer path. A 4.3% annualized monthly-return variability reading indicates that month-to-month rent-index movement has been meaningful, so a single current snapshot deserves measured confidence. The deepest observed peak-to-trough fall was 4.7%, showing a historical retreat within the series rather than a smooth progression. Coverage is 98.7% across 75 observations. Transparent national discovery ranks among history-eligible ZIPs are 2,339 for momentum, 2,716 for stability, and 2,765 for the balanced measure; these are backward-looking discovery tools, not forecasts or investment recommendations.
The bedroom ladder provides a structured way to scale the ZIP asking-rent index, not observed bedroom-specific rents. Modelled monthly estimates are $1,407 for a studio, $1,653 for one bedroom, $2,042 for two bedrooms, $2,840 for three bedrooms, and $3,346 for four bedrooms. They are modelled estimates created by scaling ZIP ZORI through the local HUD ladder and must never be read as measured rents for available units. The local HUD two-bedroom FMR/SAFMR standard is $1,464, placing the ZIP index 39.5% higher. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative, bedroom-specific standard rather than an asking-rent observation, so that gap does not establish a market lease amount or a tenant payment.
Housing stock and renter evidence add another constraint to interpretation. The matched ZCTA reports 6,943 housing units, with renters representing 28.8% of occupied homes. Its all-unit vacancy rate is 2.4%, and 63 vacant units are classified as for rent; neither measure proves that a specific rental is available, comparable, or affordable. Stock is concentrated in 4,977 single-family units, while 578 units are in large multifamily buildings. Among 1,954 renter households, 595 were reported as paying 30.5% or more of income toward gross rent. The burden estimate has a reported margin of error of 182 households, which is material when using it as a broad area signal rather than a precise count.
Wider geography provides context but does not replace ZIP evidence: the City of Albuquerque context asking-rent index is $1,486, Bernalillo County context asking rent is $1,488, and the Albuquerque, NM metro context asking rent is $1,522. Each is below the ZIP-level reading, although those wider measures describe different geographic scopes. The City of Albuquerque context vacancy rate is 5.6%, while the Albuquerque, NM metro apartment-vacancy measure is 6.3%; those are wider-market benchmarks with distinct housing universes from the ZCTA all-unit vacancy rate. The comparison highlights that the ZIP’s rent reading is elevated relative to surrounding context, while its renter and vacancy composition should not be generalized beyond the matched statistical area.
Redfin supplies a separate, direct rolling-three-month ZIP resale observation, not rental transactions or rental comparables. Its median sold price was $461,146, up 3.6% year over year, with 49 homes sold and a median 29 days on market. Redfin reported inventory of 34 homes and 2.1 months of supply. The average sale-to-list result was 98.2%, while 10.4% of sales closed above list price; these are for-sale signals only. This resale evidence presents a tension with the rent history: sold prices were higher year over year and supply was limited while the one-year asking-rent index change was negative. Annualized ZIP ZORI divided by median sold price produces a 5.31% cross-source screening ratio only, not a property-level return metric or evidence about costs, financing, or outcomes.
Source definitions explain why the figures should not be merged into one rent estimate. The five-digit label 87113 is both a Zillow ZIP market identifier and a matched Census ZCTA label. 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. ACS 2024 five-year median gross rent instead surveys occupied renter homes and includes selected utilities. HUD FMR/SAFMR is an administrative standard, and Redfin records resale activity. For any property-level reading, the missing evidence includes the actual marketed asking amount, bedroom and bathroom configuration, utility responsibility, lease term, concessions, physical condition, address-level availability, list-price history, and transaction terms.
Overall, the evidence supports a mixed description rather than a single directional conclusion. The current ZIP asking-rent index is high relative to the local gross-rent survey, its longer rent history remains positive despite the recent decline, and the resale market shows limited listed supply alongside higher sold prices. Variability, survey uncertainty, and differing source universes limit the confidence that can be placed in one current rent figure. The key unresolved question is whether a specific available rental, with known utilities and lease terms, aligns with the modelled bedroom scale and the separate resale and affordability screens without treating area averages as property facts.