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Rent check: is the rent you are counting on realistic?

Compare the rent you expect with what homes at your price typically rent for in your metro, from Zillow's rent and home value data for 574 US metros, and see the DSCR at both rents.

The rental
Every US metro in Zillow's rent data through September 2026.

OptimisticMore than 25% above what homes at this price typically rent for in the metro. Expect the appraiser to push back.

Typical rent for a home at this price

$1,816

Your rent is +27% versus the metro norm for this price.

Metro typical single-family rent
$2,275
Metro typical home value
$375,898
Metro rent-to-price (monthly)
0.61%
Your rent-to-price
0.77%
DSCR at your rent
1.07x
DSCR at the metro-norm rent
0.85x
Check this rental Rental math for this metro

The DSCRs assume 80% LTV, a placeholder 7.25% rate on a 30-year loan, the metro's rental tax rate and its state's insurance rate (at least 0.6% of value), the same assumptions as the rental math pages. A metro norm is an average; the appraiser's rent comps for your street are what the lender uses.

The method

  1. Metro rent-to-price = Zillow's typical single-family rent (ZORI) / typical home value (ZHVI) for the metro.
  2. Typical rent at your price = your price × the metro ratio.
  3. The stamp compares your rent with that number: up to 10% above is in range, 10-25% is on the high side, more than 25% is optimistic.

Rent-to-price falls as price rises within a metro, so on an expensive home the norm overstates rent a little, and on a cheap one it understates it. For each metro's full numbers, see rental math by metro. Sources: Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), single-family residences, smoothed; Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), all homes, middle tier, smoothed and seasonally adjusted.

Questions people ask

How do I estimate rent for a rental property?

Start from what similar homes nearby actually lease for, then sanity-check against the market. This tool does the second step: it scales the metro's typical rent to your price. In Atlanta, GA, the typical single-family rent is $2,275 on a typical home worth $375,898 (Zillow, September 2026), a 0.61% monthly rent-to-price ratio. At that ratio a $300,000 home rents for about $1,816.

What rent will a DSCR lender use?

The appraiser's market rent (a rent schedule built from local leases), compared with your lease if there is one. Our program uses the lower of the lease and market rent on a leased unit, and 90% of market rent on a vacant one. A rent far above the metro norm is the first thing an appraiser cuts.

What is a good rent-to-price ratio?

The old 1% rule (monthly rent at 1% of price) is rare in large metros today. What matters for the loan is whether the rent covers the payment: run the DSCR calculator with the rent this tool says is realistic, not the one in the listing.

Numbers look right?

Send the deal. We check it against the lender's terms and come back with a loan.

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