CEO on the factors attracting investors and first-time buyers alike
Home sales and property values in Ohio’s housing market continued to grow at the end of 2025, with the number of homes sold jumping by 8.7% compared with a year prior and the median price inching 3.2% higher.
That continued a trend that’s seen average prices across the state climb from under $200,000 in 2021 to just above $250,000 in December, according to Redfin, squeezing affordability but keeping prices well below the level seen in major markets.
And with the median sales price across the US topping $428,000, plenty of investors are continuing to focus on Ohio for rental income, according to NEO Innovative Consulting chief executive officer Eli Mongold (pictured top).
He told Mortgage Professional America that out-of-state interest in the Cleveland-Akron-Canton corridor, a prominent tri-city Ohio region, had soared since the COVID-19 pandemic, with international investors especially prominent.
“I think the biggest reason for that is our cash flow capability and also our inventory capability,” he explained.
“Our state is unique in the sense that about 57% of the people that live here are renters, so you pretty much always have a pool of people that are looking. Our landlord and tenant laws are a lot more reasonable than a lot of other states.”
Landlord-friendly legal framework draws investors
Buyers from California have become commonplace in recent years, according to Mongold, partly because Ohio’s legal framework is generally more landlord-friendly – with termination of periodic tenancies without cause permitted as long as proper notice is given.
Either party can also end a month-to-month lease without cause with at least 30 days’ written notice, contrasting sharply with California where just cause is usually required to terminate tenancies after the 12-month mark.
For investors, buying power is also strong in Ohio, Mongold emphasized. “Out here, you can buy a property that’s in solid shape,” he said. “You’ve got market tenancy – it’s not in a terrible neighborhood or things of that nature.
“And you’re paying $115,000 for the single-family home but it’s renting for $1,350 a month and the taxes are $1,000 a year. Insurance is $1,200 a year. So investors are seeing upwards of three, four, five thousand dollars a month in net monthly cashflow on their money.”
Is that attractive landscape for landlords negatively impacting the outlook for renters, and first-time buyers, in the state? Mongold said Ohio has plenty of opportunity for new entrants to the market, purchasing mainly outside the state’s most industrialized parts.
“It’s not just because they’re cheaper living – the first-time homebuyers are kind of more targeting the suburban areas,” he said.
“I’d say the average first-time homebuyer purchase out here is $180,000 to $225,000 to get the three-bed, two-bath ranch that’s in a nice school district. They’re moving from the densely populated rental areas into those neighborhoods.”
First-time buyers are also boosted by programs allowing downpayments as low as 3.5% to 5% to purchase a property – meaning some borrowers can put as little as $5,000 to $10,000 down on their first home, Mongold said.
Challenges remain for first-time buyers and investors alike
As for the biggest hurdles facing buyers at present? Steady price appreciation isn’t helping first-time entrants even if prices are reasonable compared with some other states, while for the investor class a big influx of new vendors is presenting its own challenges.
“There’s a significant surge in vendors that are available and some of those are more trustworthy than others,” Mongold said. “When out-of-state or out-of-country investors are targeting the Ohio market, a lot of times they’re targeting the BRRRR method: buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat.
“And they’re reliant on their realtors, their contractors, their property managers, to oversee the construction, oversee the tenancy, make sure the deal itself is OK – and it’s [important to find] that team that works the best for them.”
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