Research and corrections standards.
How RentCaliber selects data, builds comparable models, separates commercial interests and handles errors.
Primary and named sources
RentCaliber identifies the source and reference period beside its figures. Current research primarily uses Zillow Research indexes, the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, HUD Fair Market Rents, Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, FHFA house-price indexes and NAIC insurance reports. A source being public or official does not make it perfectly current or suitable for every property, so each study also states its limits.
Comparable assumptions
National and state comparisons apply one documented set of financing and expense assumptions to every included city. We do not change a city's assumptions to improve its rank. Property-level calculators expose the inputs so users can replace the examples with actual rent comparables, tax bills, insurance quotes and lender terms.
Reproducibility
Each original study publishes its methodology and a downloadable CSV. The study page names inclusion rules, held-out data, formulas, reference dates and material omissions. Derived figures are labeled as modeled estimates rather than observations.
Commercial independence
Affiliate relationships do not alter formulas, research findings, market rankings or the order of research results. Commercial links are labeled and governed by the partners and commercial disclosure.
Corrections and updates
New source releases are routine updates. A material correction is a change caused by an error in data handling, calculation, labeling or description. When one affects a published study, RentCaliber updates the result and adds a dated correction note to that study. Minor spelling and presentation fixes may be corrected without a note.
To report a suspected error, email [email protected] with the page URL, the figure or statement in question and a source supporting the correction. We review the underlying input and formula before changing a published result.
Authorship and accountability
RentCaliber is founded and published by Javier Castellanos Serrano. The site does not claim professional licenses it does not hold. Research questions and interview requests can be sent through the press and data page.
Last updated October 8, 2026.