Cincinnati Rental Market Trend Report - June 7th, 2021

The Cincinnati Rental Market Trend Report analyzes four key data points: active listing growth, renter lead growth, average renter leads per property, and the average rent price for two-bedroom listings.

• Active Listings – Our first data set is the month-over-month change in the total number of active rental listings advertised on the TurboTenant platform. Factors such as seasonality will impact this number, with the rental season peaking January through August. Due to the pandemic, eviction moratoriums, and stay-at-home orders, more month over month fluctuations were reported in nearly every market we analyze. Traditionally, this data point helps us gauge the rental supply in each market and provides a more in-depth seasonality analysis. Through the lens of 2020, inconsistencies in baselines were noted. As we compare 2021 to 2020, we will work to glean insights into if and when the rental market is beginning to normalize and mirror moving and inventory trends of years past.
• Renter Leads – Our second data set is the month-over-month change in the total number of renter inquiries to a TurboTenant property listing. This data point is the demand side of our supply data point above.
• Average Number of Renter Leads Per Property – Our third data point brings together the first two to give us a better understanding of the competitive landscape in each location. We compare the total number on a month-over-month basis.
• Average Rent Price – Our fourth data point is the average rent price for a two-bedroom listing. Our analysis begins in January of 2020 and will continue throughout 2021. We want to understand how factors such as outmigration, changes in remote work and school, and eviction moratoriums impact rent prices in any given market.

Cincinnati Rental Market Trend Analysis

Active Listings

In 2020, active listings in Cincinnati started strong in January and then fluctuated from February through July when the pandemic restrictions started and then lifted. The most considerable increase in 2020 occurred in October at 39%, and the lowest was a drop of 23% in December. The start of 2021 saw a massive jump of 53%, which is typical as the start of the new year often sees rental turnover – inversely, February 2021 saw a significant decrease in active listings. March has again seen a considerable increase of 60%, with the following month of April dropping to 48%. The extreme trends continued into May with a spike of 52%.

Renter Leads and Average Leads Per Property

The start of 2020 saw a healthy number of renter leads and then dropped significantly in March with a decrease of 66% as shutdowns began. Renter leads in Cincinnati fluctuated for the rest of the year but remained extremely high compared to other cities with the largest increase in June of 2020 at 258%. The average leads per property in Cincinnati stayed above 36 for the all of 2020. The largest average took place in February 2020 at 175 leads per property, and the lowest occurred at 18 in March 2021 – leads currently sit at a lower level at 19 per property. Renter leads in Cincinnati have faired much better than other cities during this reporting period, such as Austin.

Average Rent

Year-over-year, the average rent amount for a two-bedroom listing is holding at similar levels to 2020. Average rent spiked in September 2020 at $1,345, which correlates with the increase in active listings. Rent pricing in Cincinnati has only had small increases and decreases, which is expected due to seasonality – the lowest average rent reported was $832 in April and June of 2020.

We will continue to update this data every month. If you have data requirements that are outside the scope of this article, please email [email protected]. We have ongoing data collection and are happy to supply another data set if it is available. Check out all of our COVID-19 landlord resources here.

If you are in the process of filling your properties, TurboTenant can help streamline your rental process with easy and free online rental applications as well as thorough tenant screening so you can find the best renter for your property.