Cleveland’s Housing Market Is Drawing In More Small Landlords Scoring Homes for Great Deals

Investors continue to command a meaningful share of U.S. home purchases, even as higher mortgage rates and softer demand slow the broader housing market.

While large institutional buyers once dominated the market, the latest Realtor.com® Investor Report shows a clear shift toward small, buy-and-hold landlords.

These investors are proving more resilient in today’s environment, especially in lower-cost markets where pricing still supports long-term rental returns. Cleveland, OH, for instance, stands out as one of the metros where this strategy is paying off most clearly.

Big discounts define Cleveland’s investor appeal

Investor activity remains concentrated in affordable regions, particularly across the Midwest and South. While metros such as Memphis and St. Louis lead the nation in investor buyer share, Cleveland distinguishes itself through how far below market value investors are able to buy.

In the Cleveland metro, investors made up 13.1% of homebuyers in Q2 2025, up year over year. The pricing gap is striking. The median investor purchase price was $113,000, compared with a median overall sale price of $233,000. That 51.4% discount places Cleveland among the five large metros where investors secure the deepest price cuts relative to typical buyers.

This local trend aligns with broader state-level patterns. In looking at Ohio homes for sale, investors bought homes at a median price of $152,000 in Q2, while the statewide median sale price stood at $243,000. The resulting 37.7% discount reflects a strategy focused on lower-cost housing stock, where steady rental income takes priority over short-term appreciation.

These conditions are particularly favorable for small investors. Nationally, small investors accounted for 62.5% of all investor purchases in Q2 2025, one of the highest shares in recent history. Cleveland’s modest entry prices and established rental demand closely match this group’s playbook, enabling individual landlords to remain active even as larger investors pull back.

National trends explain why Cleveland fits the pattern

Across the U.S., investor participation has remained steady despite a cooling housing market. Investors purchased 10.8% of all homes sold in Q2 2025, edging higher year over year as overall home sales declined faster than investor buying, according to Realtor.com® reporting on small investors buying homes.

At the same time, investor selling activity has slowed. Investor home sales fell 4.1% year over year in Q2, leaving investors as net buyers once again. In the first half of 2025, investors bought roughly 41,000 more homes than they sold, continuing a long-standing imbalance that has constrained for-sale inventory nationwide.

The makeup of investor demand is also shifting. Large investors represented just 20.1% of investor purchases in Q2, while small investors reached their highest share since 2007. Elevated borrowing costs and moderated price growth appear to be weighing more heavily on large-scale expansion, while smaller landlords remain active in markets where lower prices make deals pencil out—illustrating how small landlords are shaping the affordable housing market .

Regionally, the Midwest continues to attract investors seeking affordability paired with reliable rental demand. Cleveland exemplifies this dynamic. According to the report, metros like Cleveland tend to draw income-oriented investors focused on cash flow rather than rapid appreciation. Older housing stock, steady employment bases, and favorable rent-to-price ratios reinforce this approach.

As Realtor.com® economists note, persistently high home prices and mortgage rates continue to sideline many traditional buyers. That environment keeps investor participation elevated, particularly in metros like Cleveland where deep discounts give small landlords a durable edge. For now, Cleveland remains a standout market where small investors are scoring homes at substantial bargains—and shaping the housing landscape in the process.

This article was produced with editorial input from Dina Sartore-Bodo and Gabriella Iannetta.