Compelling *Current* Cleveland Market Data Analysis?

[Chad Weston]

@Alicia Jackson Weston and I are gathering information on the Cleveland rental market and economy trends.

We are curious if knowledgable Cleveland professionals agree with the following analysis:

https://learn.roofstock.com/bl...

Thank you in advance for your time.

[Dave Stokley]

Hey @Chad Weston

First of all, I'm a huge fan and tireless advocate of Cleveland, both as a place to live and a place to invest. The lake is an underrated asset, there is tons of culture, and the people are generally wonderful.

Most of the facts listed in this article are true. If you are looking for cash flow it's a great market, although like many other places prices have seemingly gone crazy in the last year or two (I just refinanced a triplex i bought 5 years ago and it appraised 82% higher than i paid in 2015).

A few things stick out that tell me the author isn't actually very familiar with the market, the big one being high rents in Hough and Industrial Valley. I'm not sure what wonky metrics produced that conclusion, but I can assure you that the highest residential rents are NOT in those areas. Also, University Circle is not downtown, and the mass transit is not good.

Here's another thing you need to know about Cleveland: everything is at least 100 years old. So your maintenance budget is no joke. Doesn't mean you can't make money, you just gotta know this going in.

Another big thing that's missing here is the general incompetence of local government. Consider:

1. * We do not currently have a recycling program because City Council couldn't find a vendor willing to do it. All of our recycling is going to a landfill.
2. * The City has grossly mismanaged The West Side Market, a national treasure, driving many legacy vendors out of business.
3. * City Council is considering foolish anti-short-term-rental legislation that would be a major blow to the city's tourism-dependent economy (yeah I'm biased as an owner of an STR management company)

All that being said, I still think Cleveland is a fantastic place for real estate investment. Would love to show you around if you make your way out here soon.

Cheers,
Dave