The Complete Guide to the Cleveland, Ohio Real Estate Market

Posted: 6/1/2023

Last Updated: 6/1/2023

Cleveland Neighborhood Breakdown

Cleveland, Ohio is a great market for cash flow overall. It was ranked #4 in the country for the 2023 Top 10 Cash Flow markets by BiggerPockets and was ranked #3 for Cash Flow markets in 2022 by BiggerPockets. From Q1 in 2021 to Q4 in 2022 Cleveland had the 3rd highest rent increase in the country at 12.1%. This can create an even more favorable rent / price ratio for past and new investors looking into this market. The average rent in Cleveland is the 3rd lowest out of the top 25 cities with the largest growth year over year which shows the large potential it could have in the future. Cleveland is located in Ohio which is consistently ranked in one of the top spots for being a landlord friendly state. Specifically in Cleveland, midterm and short term rentals have become more popular as of recent as you are able to cater to the 4th best hospital system in the world The Cleveland Clinic on the east side of the city along with the MetroHealth System on the west side which was named one of the best hospitals in the country when it comes to overall care, value of care and civic leadership, according to a recent study. Luckily the governing power is on our side when it comes to creative residential investing as in May 2022 The House committee passed a bill to block cities from regulating Airbnbs, other short-term rentals. “The legislation blocks towns and counties from enacting ordinances that prohibit businesses or people from renting property for less than 30 days at a time. Additionally, it blocks them from passing laws that “regulate the number, duration, or frequency of rental periods” of short-term rentals” - Jake Zuckerman from Ohio Capital Journal. I think this recent bill passing shows the character Ohio takes towards the investors that back up it’s large rental population. Cleveland specifically has a large rental population at 59% while the other 41% are owner occupied.

These are the areas that I’ve seen the most success in when it comes to long term rental cash flow. This excludes the areas that I would classify as a D or F class neighborhood in the neighborhood map below. You can find deals here that meet the 1% rule and get close to a 1.25-1.5% ratio depending on the asset class, whether you buy as a turnkey or value add and other factors.

East side: Lee-Miles, Garfield Heights, Bedford, Newburgh Heights, North Collinwood, The Waterloo District, Buckeye-Shaker (north side), Fairfax, Euclid

West side: Old Brooklyn, West Boulevard, Clark-Fulton, Cudell, Jefferson, Bellaire-Puritas, Edgewater, Lakewood

These are the pockets that I’ve seen the most success in when it comes to short-term and mid-term rental cash flow. These areas are labeled A and B near the 2 major hospitals on the east and west side for the most part.

East side: Little Italy, University Circle, Fairfax, Coventry Village, Cleveland Heights, University Heights, Shaker Heights

West side: Downtown, Tremont, Ohio City, Old Brooklyn, Lakewood, Edgewater

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Helpful Resources

Link to the map shown above

Josh Investor Prequalification Form (fill out to get deals and more resources on the Cleveland market!)

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Sources

https://www.incomebyzipcode.com/ohio/

https://www.niche.com/?ref=places-to-live

https://mymaps.google.com

https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2022/05/11/house-committee-passes-bill-to-block-cities-from-regulating-airbnbs-other-short-term-rentals/

https://news.metrohealth.org/metrohealth-one-of-the-best-hospitals-in-the-country-according-to-the-lown--institute/

https://news.metrohealth.org/metrohealth-one-of-the-best-hospitals-in-the-country-according-to-the-lown--institute/

https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/oh/cleveland-clinic-6410670

https://www.axios.com/local/columbus/2023/02/08/rent-still-high-columbus-ohio-2023

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Top100CashflowMarkets.pdf

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/best-real-estate-markets-for-cash-flow

https://www.rentcafe.com/average-rent-market-trends/us/oh/cleveland/#:~:text=98%2C818%20or%2059%25%20of%20the,41%25%20are%20owner%2Doccupied.