At the start of the year, Ohio is experiencing strong demand for multifamily housing. However, this trend may shift as new supply enters the market.
A Colliers report found that the Buckeye State averaged occupancy of 95.5 percent, while positively absorbing 15,890 units in the 12 months through March 2025. Particularly, the CRE firm mostly focused on the performance in Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati.
Columbus posted the highest amount of annual net move-ins, with 6,536 units. It was followed by Cincinnati at 4,641 and Cleveland at 3,161.
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Occupancy, which averaged 95.5 in Ohio, improved modestly in all three major cities. Among them, Cincinnati had the largest occupancy growth, at 1.2 percent, to an average of 95.8 percent. Cleveland and Columbus enjoyed smaller 0.8 percent and 0.3 percent rises, averaging rates of 95.3 percent and 94.6 percent, respectively.
Rent growth stood out in Cincinnati, thanks to the city's 3.1 percent rise to $1,353 per month. It was followed by Columbus and Cleveland, whose rents grew by 2.9 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively. Overall, in Ohio, rents averaged $1,310.80 per month.
In terms of transactions, Ohio's multifamily volume jumped by eight percent to $336 million. Reynolds Asset Management made the largest acquisition in the state, snatching a 432-unit property in Columbus for $34.93 million. That was followed by Tailwind Group's $21.84 million purchase of a 166-unit site and Azura Capital paying $21.33 million for a 156-unit asset, both of which were located in Columbus as well.
While the multifamily results in Ohio were strong in the first quarter overall, Colliers warns that the market will "continue to see headwinds due to increase in the pipeline of new apartment deliveries in 2025/2026."
The largest amount of construction activity is coming out of Columbus, with 12,563 units. That's followed by 6,054 in Columbus, 3,648 in Cleveland and 1,605 in Dayton.
While Columbus is seeing the most supply, Colliers' 12-month forecast for the city calls for rent growth of 3.2 percent, occupancy of 95 percent and demand continuing to outpace supply.
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Anthony Russo
Anthony Russo has been contributing to GlobeSt. since July 2024. Along with CRE, his financial background expands to capital markets, the economy, and consumer issues. Previously, he has written for CapitalWatch and was a senior reporter for The US Sun.
