Cincinnati, OH - Growing or declining?

Question

I've been researching Cincinnati, OH as a place to invest for buy and hold rentals. I'm planning to purchase a multi-family property, but I'm getting conflicting reports so thought I'd reach out to the awesome bigger pockets community. I've heard some say that Cincinnati is a great place now because it is transitioning into a growth area again, while others are saying the city is experiencing a marginal increase in population and expect it to continue the trend it has had over the past 10 years of a declining population.

What are everyone's thoughts is it a boom or a bust? Either way you choose - What information or data leads you to that conclusion?

Caitlyn Hummer · Answer

Cincinnati is ON THE RISE for sure. I've lived in the Cincinnati and Dayton area for a little over 10 years. In that time, OTR (Over The Rhine) which is just north of downtown has completely transformed. More and more young people are being drawn to the urban core. Five years ago, you could have bought an entire building in OTR for $10k. Now, a one bedroom condo in the area is at least $200k. And that trend is continuing to grow. All the immediate areas outside of OTR are starting to change for the better. GE just brough a HUGE headquarters downtown on the riverfront. Built an entire new campus. That was beginning of 2018 I believe. Procter and Gamble is a huge company with multiple facilities all around the city and suburbs. New construction continues to thrive in the outermost suburbs because there just isn't enough housing for the demand. Areas like Northside which were long neglected are starting to see the classic gentrification that's making the area great again and RE prices rise. It's all good. There is demand. It's only getting higher. I don't think Cincinnati is at all going to decline. The tri-cities of Ohio - Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton - are all seeing an increase in new businesses and positively changing neighborhoods. Cincinnati and Dayton are actually so close together, if they were one metro area (like Dallas/Ft. Worth), it'd be the size of San Diego. And that land in the middle that was farm land just 6-8 years ago? All new construction. The gap between the two cities is almost non-existent. Very, very positive!

Sunny G. · Answer

I am a local OH lender, if you have fix and flip or long term financing needs, feel free to reach out. We are mostly nationwide

Linhda Tran · Answer

@Kevin Reynolds Hi Kevin! Did you end up investing in Cincinnati? I'm looking into the area now as I have family in Chicago and go to the midwest often. I know this thread is dated; not sure where you stand. Would love to hear of any advice/learnings you'd care to share! I'm in need of a Cincinnati real estate agent so if you recommend anyone, send along!! Hope you're well,

Jaron Walling · Answer

@Kevin Reynolds Cincinnati is very much like Indianapolis. I have a few friends that live there and they like it. We visit the OTR area frequently because of all the new breweries and hipster restaurants. FCCincinnati is now a full MLS team. That's big new if you're a soccer fan! There planning to build a $200M stadium for the team if that doesn't tell you something.

Todd Dexheimer · Answer

The greater metro are is growing, with the majority of growth in Northern Kentucky suburbs(south end) and the North east side of the suburbs. As for the city it's self, there is growth that looks to be sustained. Cincinnati has seen nearly a 1% population growth each of the last few years and looks to continue that. Google will provide a lot of good feedback. If you want to find RE data, then CoStar, Marcus and Millichap, Cushman Wakefield, Colliers all have great information.

Kevin Reynolds · Answer

@Jaron Walling - Thanks that is good to hear. I've started building a team in the area with a real estate and lender. Now I'm continuing to look for the right deal to meet my requirements.

Thomas Page · Answer

@Kevin Reynolds cincinnati is no different than any other city. It can be drastically different block by block. As a whole capital appreciation is happening, but nothing like the Bay Area. I love it here!

Kevin Reynolds · Answer

@Eric Jones - Thank you for the detailed response. I'll start looking into the OTR and surrounding areas. I have not picked a sub-market within the Cincinnati metro area, but will keep that on the list.@Todd Dexheimer - Thank you. I will take a look at those resources. From what you've both said I will also look at the boundaries and areas between the borders of the cities as they are growing closer together and are (or could) forming a larger combined metro area.