What it’s really like to invest in Cleveland

Average home price: $109,291 (down 1.3% YoY)
Homes that sell over list price: 31.1%
Homes that sell under list price: 55%
Average rent: $1,299

Lay of the land: “Cleveland is still one of the few big US metros where the numbers actually make sense for investors,” says Itay Simchay of Proven House Buyers Cleveland, who has bought, rehabbed, and sold hundreds of houses here over the past 10 years. The city’s steady rental demand stems from a variety of industries, including health care, manufacturing, and education. “That’s a big reason the market stays stable even when other cities wobble.”

The pros: “Affordability is Cleveland’s superpower,” says Simchay, who recently purchased a house in the Maple Heights neighborhood for $77,000, spent four months and $45,000 on renovations, then sold it in November for $200,000.

The cons: Cleveland has some of the country’s oldest housing stock, averaging 65 years old. “Almost every deal we touch involves major systems: roofs, plumbing, electrical, foundation,” Simchay warns. Each neighborhood and even each block could have vastly different tenant profiles and rent levels, which makes underwriting and local knowledge matter more here than in trendy growth markets. “Cleveland is not a city you can ‘buy on paper.’”

Bottom line: “It’s not a ‘get rich overnight’ market, but if you’re an investor who likes affordable entry prices, solid cash flow, value-add opportunities, and steady appreciation, then Cleveland is one of the best markets in the Midwest,” Simchay says. “If you skip due diligence, the market will punish you.”

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