In this edition of The TurboTenant report, we will be focusing on the best places to buy an investment property in Ohio. Three towns made our list: Columbus, Cincinnati, and Akron. We curated data from studies on the best places to buy an investment property, median sale prices, and proprietary TurboTenant data. The TurboTenant Data includes stats on the average number of leads a rental property received, as well as the average number of days on the market. These two points will help an investor determine the strength of the rental market, as well as estimating potential vacancy rates.
Located in the Great Lakes region of the United States, Ohio is filled with diversity from city-life, a thriving arts culture, top universities to historic towns. Ohio is a great place to live with affordable cities and great neighborhoods throughout the state. Whether it’s sitting on the beaches of Lake Erie, hiking at Hocking Hills, or attending a game at one of the 41 professional sports teams, Ohio is where it’s at. It’s commonly referred to as an industrial capital in America since it had roots in the Rust Belt – Ohio’s economy is also strong in banking, insurance, steel production, research, and tourism.
It’s known as The Buckeye State due to the buckeye trees that are found in the Ohio River Valley – the small nuts from the trees look like the eye of a deer and if you keep one in your pocket it brings good luck! We want to bring you good luck with property investing in Ohio – let’s check out which towns made our list.
#3: Columbus
Columbus is Ohio’s capital and is the most populous city in the state and the second-most populous city in the Midwest. With an economy made up of a variety of things based on education, insurance, defense, food, aviation, and technology, it is also home to the Battelle Memorial Institute which is the world’s largest private research and development foundation. Not to mention Columbus has great attractions like the Columbus Museum of Art, German Village, COSI, and the famous Columbus Zoo. Columbus is also home to Ohio State University – a highly ranked college in America with over 60,000 students. Landlords will have no problem finding great leads with 52 on average per property and only around 16 days on the market. With positive growth numbers and a median sale price of only $180k, Columbus is a great place to own a rental investment property.
- Population growth: 2.3%
- Employment growth: 1.2%
- Increase in home values: 9.2%
- Median Sale Price: $180k
- Average Rent: $1099
- Average Number of Leads per Property: 52
- Number of days on the rental market: 16
#2: Akron
Just south of Cleveland, Akron is known as the Rubber Capital of the World thanks to companies such as Goodyear and Firestone. Akron is currently a top place for polymer research and development and is home to both the Ohio Ballet, and the Quaker Oats Company. It also has many famous natives including Lebron James and The Black Keys. With fifty percent of America’s population living within a 500-mile radius of Akron, property investors have great opportunities to invest in affordable and high-quality housing with 84 leads per property and just 12 days on the market. People can’t get enough of Akron with its cheap rent of $757 and a median sale price of $103k.
- Population growth: 0%
- Employment growth: 1%
- Increase in home values: 8.7%
- Median Sale Price: $103k
- Average Rent: $757
- Average Number of Leads per Property: 84
- Number of days on the rental market: 12
#1: Cincinnati
Cincinnati is located right by the state line with Kentucky on the other side- it’s one of the fastest growing economies in the Midwest and is home to three major sports teams: the Reds, Bengals, and the FC of Cincinnati. Furthermore, the University of Cincinnati is a large part of the city’s community and culture. Landlords can enjoy a bowl of Cincinnati chili while not having to worry about filling their rental properties as the city gets an average of 100 leads per property and less than two weeks on the market! Median sale prices are only around $163k with an average rent just over $1000 – with an increasing population and employment growth, you won’t regret investing in the Queen City, our #1 town.
- Population growth: 1%
- Employment growth: 1.5%
- Increase in home values: 3.1%
- Median Sale Price: $163k
- Average Rent: $1048
- Average Number of Leads per Property: 100
- Number of days on the rental market: 13
Once you’ve landed the perfect investment property in a good location, TurboTenant can help take your landlording into the digital world by streamlining the 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.
Use our handy map tool to explore top rental markets throughout the U.S.
About the TurboTenant Report
The TurboTenant Report analyzes data from active listings across all 50 states, as well as third party real estate, population and employment growth data. Our goal with the TurboReport is to empower seasoned and novice investors to make wise purchasing decisions when purchasing a rental investment property. For more information or custom data requests, please contact [email protected].
Methodology:
In order to determine the best cities to invest in each state, we curated data from a number of reputable sources as well as using TurboTenant proprietary data. Our main city selections were taken from a study that evaluated four main factors for each city: employment growth, population growth, increase in home values and rental yield. We combined that with TurboTenant data on the average rent price, the number of rental leads per property, as well as the average number of days the rental stays on the market.
We also included an honorable mention where applicable. They are pulled from this study on the best places to invest in every state. These were determined using Zillow’s Buyer-Seller Index and Zillow Home Value Forecast, and AreaVibes’ Livability Score. Other methods for determining honorable mentions include using TurboTenant proprietary data to determine which cities return the best rental investment R.O.I. using data points including days on market, the number of leads per property, and average rent price.
DISCLAIMER: TurboTenant, Inc does not provide legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only. All users are advised to check all applicable local, state and federal laws and consult legal counsel should questions arise.
Sources:
- TurboTenant Rental Data
- Fastest Growing States Population
- The Best and Worst Cities to Own Investment Property
- Real Estate data provided by Redfin, a national real estate brokerage.