Cleveland Multifamily Report – April 2025
The market continues to show midwestern strength.
Cleveland’s multifamily market recorded uneven fundamentals at the start of the year. Rent growth was 0.3 percent on a trailing three-month basis through February, while the U.S. average remained flat. On a year-over-year basis, the metro’s average advertised asking rate increased 4.4 percent, to $1,216, while the U.S. average rose 1.2 percent, to $1,751. Cleveland’s occupancy rate settled at 94.7 percent as of January, just above the U.S. average of 94.5 percent.
In January, Cleveland’s unemployment rate was 4.6 percent and Akron’s stood at 5.6 percent, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2024, the metro added 2,900 net jobs. The education and health services sector led gains, with 6,300 positions added. Bedrock’s masterplan for a $3.5 billion transit-oriented project that would transform the eastern Cuyahoga riverfront is one step closer to development. The City Planning Commission approved the masterplan for the project, which is expected to deliver more than 2,000 residential units as well as 12 acres of green space, such as parks and trails. Cleveland had 2,771 units under construction as of February.
While no deliveries have been recorded yet this year, Yardi Matrix expects the metro’s inventory to grow by approximately 1,600 units by the end of the year. Last year marked a decade-high for completions, with 2,330 units, or 1.4 percent of existing stock, added.
