Photograph by Mariaelena Caputi
In August 2024, a four-bedroom home on Mt. Pleasant Avenue in Wyoming sold for $725,000—43 percent higher than its previous sale in 2003, based on 2025 dollars. This past July, a four-bedroom home on Sawgrass Drive in West Chester Township sold for $530,000, up 37 percent since it sold in 2012, while over in Mason, a three-bedroom home on Hanover Drive sold for $386,000, up 59 percent from 2018.
All over Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky home prices have soared in recent years, with the Cincinnati metropolitan area experiencing some of the largest price spikes in the country in 2022 and 2023. Inventory continues to move fast, with homes in Southwest Ohio averaging just nine days on the market in August.
While it’s still a seller’s market, the landscape is beginning to improve for buyers, says DaVan Gassett, a local real estate agent with Coldwell Banker and president of the Realtor Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, a professional organization based in Sharonville.
“Even though home sales have dipped slightly compared to last year, we’re seeing steady price appreciation, a healthy increase in inventory, and strong overall sales value,” Gassett says. “Sellers are still achieving solid values for their homes and that combination is what has helped make it a strong market, because of rising equity for sellers and more opportunities for buyers.”
Tiffani Ray, a local real estate investor, agrees, particularly with September’s quarter-percent drop in the federal funds rates by the Federal Reserve Board, producing the lowest interest rates the country has seen in almost three years. Despite indications of an economic slowdown, with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting the first decline in American jobs in four years in June and news of local layoffs at Procter & Gamble, Kroger, and UC Health in recent months, Ray believes affordable parts of the country like Greater Cincinnati will continue to be attractive for home buyers. The median cost of a home in every county in the region, except for Warren County, remained more affordable than the national average and the average in many other parts of the Midwest, according to July statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
“Cincinnati is still hot,” says Ray, president of the board of directors for Real Estate Investors Association of Greater Cincinnati. “It’s still a relatively affordable place to stay. Milk is still under $3 a gallon. That’s appealing not only to the people who stay here but to mom-and-pop and boutique investors, like me, and institutional investors and folks in California and in New York that look at it as good for business.”
Where does a potential homebuyer—perhaps a first-time homebuyer—start? Learn to navigate the complex process of buying a home, Ray and Gassett say, and start saving for that down payment.
“Determine your buying power and what you can afford,” Ray says. “A home is not just a place to lay your head, like an apartment. It’s an asset, which can be utilized for your financial well-being, whether that is down the road generationally or whether it’s for you as the homeowner.”
Homeownership has commonly been linked with the American Dream as a means of providing financial stability and independence, and the U.S. began tracking how many housing units were rented versus owned in the decennial census of 1890. Between then and the 1940s, the rate of homeownership fluctuated between 43 and 48 percent, according to HUD. By 1961 it had reached 61.9 percent, an increase of more than 18 percent.
“This remarkable transformation was facilitated by higher incomes, a large percentage of households being in prime homebuying age groups, the Federal Housing Administration–led revolution in mortgage financing, the GI Bill of Rights, improved interurban transportation, and development of large-scale housing subdivisions with affordable houses,” reads a HUD report titled “Homeownership—Past, Present, and Future.” Since the 1960s, roughly 61 to 65 percent of the U.S. population has owned their home.
What hasn’t been so stable? Home prices, which have climbed steadily since sales figures began to be collected and analyzed across the nation in 1963. That year, the median sale price for a home in the United States was $17,800—$188,226 in today’s dollars. In the second quarter of 2025, the median home price in America was $410,000—an increase of 118 percent. Median sale prices are down a bit, though, having peaked at a historically high $442,600 at the end of 2022.
The why here is complicated. Prices have risen because of inflation, fueled by the rise in the prices of consumer goods and through a series of economic downturns and recessions.
In recent years, interest rates on mortgages have played a big factor in the housing market, according to a report released last year by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, part of the U.S. Federal Reserve system. The report analyzed lending trends in Ohio, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania from 2018 to 2022, and included a snapshot of Hamilton County. (Keep in mind, the report represents the views of its author, and not necessarily the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland or the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve.)
“While the mortgage lending environment functioned relatively normally during 2018–2019, 2020–2021 saw historically low interest rates amid a worldwide pandemic,” the report reads. The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage reached a record low—2.65 percent—at the end of 2020, and Matt Klesta, the report’s author, found that low rates combined with stimulus checks, student loan forbearance, and money not spent on travel and entertainment during the height of COVID-19 allowed households to save for a down payment and home sales surged. “Things began to shift again in 2022, as interest rates doubled during the year, which had never happened before,” Klesta writes.
On September 17, the Federal Reserve cut the federal funds rate to 4–4.25 percent—the first reduction in nine months. The federal funds rate is the interest rate charged by banks to borrow from each other overnight. At press time, the change hadn’t caused any major move in the stock market. Its impact on the housing market is yet unknown.
“Job gains have slowed, and the unemployment rate has edged up but remains low. Inflation has moved up and remains somewhat elevated,” the Fed’s press release reads. “The [Federal Reserve Board] Committee is strongly committed to supporting maximum employment and returning inflation to its 2 percent objective.”
In recent decades, rising housing prices have also had to do with supply. Underbuilding, particularly during the Great Recession in 2007–2009, contributed to limited inventory. Demand caused a rise in prices, as properties began getting multiple offers, fueling bidding wars that ended above asking price. Median sale prices began rising faster than median incomes. Borrowing became even more expensive, as the percentage of applicants with debt-to-income rates over 36 percent, a lender’s general rule of thumb to qualify for a loan, grew in all income levels in Hamilton County, according to Klesta’s findings.
This last fiscal year, which ended in June, Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) Executive Director Bill Beagle says his organization saw record demand for its lending program, which provides below-market interest rates on mortgages and down payment assistance for low- to middle-income Ohioans.
“We booked over a billion dollars in mortgage loans, which was by far a record for us,” Beagle says. “As you can imagine, a quarter-point difference on a mortgage is meaningful with high prices today. It will allow you to buy more house, maybe take out a smaller loan, or pay it off sooner.”
OHFA offers down payment assistance to Ohioans who meet income qualifications, and the agency has special programs for groups like veterans, active military, first responders, teachers, and nurses. (See “Get With the Program” for more information.) Increase in demand led to program changes in July, including lowering the percentage of a down payment OHFA will cover, from as much as 5 percent to 3 percent with a conventional loan and 3.5 percent with a government loan.
“For sustainability, and in order to help as many Ohioans as we could, we decided that it made sense to dial back the amount we were giving,” Beagle says. Demand has still been strong, he says, arguing that the help must continue, as the percentage of homeowners to renters in Ohio has been declining, falling below the national average for the first time on record in 2022.
Beagle says state government leaders have expressed their support for affordable housing and recently created a tax credit for developments of five or more affordable single-family houses, Beagle says, but those also immediately became competitive. Support for affordable housing on the federal level is a bit of an unknown at the moment, he says.
“OHFA is connected at least as much at the federal level as we are to the state because we’re using federal tax credits, so we watch federal policy,” Beagle says. “Will we have the dollars we have today to help the developer who’s putting in affordable housing in Ohio? I don’t know the answer to that.”
There is some good news beyond lower interest rates for those thinking about buying a home in Greater Cincinnati, says Gassett, who has been a real estate agent since 2012.
As of August, inventory was up 23 percent over last year, Gassett says, giving buyers more options and a little more wiggle room to negotiate. And the average time on market in August, nine days, was actually an improvement for prospective buyers. In spring 2025, the average was four days, according to data collected by the MLS of Greater Cincinnati.
“For buyers, I would say patience and preparation are key. It’s about being preapproved, knowing your budget, and working with a real estate professional to help see you through the process,” Gassett says. “For sellers, I would make sure you’re doing a competitive market analysis and using professional marketing tools to ensure your home reaches the right audience.”
Competition remains fierce, particularly for starter homes under $250,000 in desirable neighborhoods, Gassett says, so buyers and their agents must be diligent. Despite interest rates being less than 6.5 percent, Gassett says individuals and families should consider their possibilities.
“Some people think when they’re buying a home, it’s their end-all, be-all,” Gassett says, “but you might live there for three years, you might live there for seven. Over time, you are gaining equity, and you can’t do that when you rent. I encourage individuals to get out there, see a property, see if you can afford it.”
If you don’t qualify for financing—and statistics show that loan denials are up for all income groups—it’s time to consider the “5 Cs”: credit history; capacity (the probability you’ll consistently be able to make payments based on income and financial obligations); collateral (personal assets like a car); capital (savings, investments, retirement accounts); and conditions (a variety of factors that could include market conditions or the state of the economy).
Start saving for that down payment, work on paying down debt, and get into the market when you can, Gassett says.
“We’re seeing steady, year over year appreciation of about 5 percent. Our affordability compared to coastal markets also continues to attract buyers,” Gassett says. “I do not have a crystal ball, but based on trends, I expect to see continued moderate growth, but at a more sustainable pace, as more inventory balances out the market.”
Ray, the local investor, suggests starting with a mortgage calculator. Think about why you want to buy and what you want.
She doesn’t think buyers should get that worked up about current interest rates, arguing they’re moderate by historic standards. Rates peaked at more than 18 percent during a recession in fall 1981.
She sees the market improving for buyers as new builds, rehabs, and homes being sold by aging, downsizing owners go on the market. In a city that is 61 percent renters, compared to 35 percent across the nation, Ray challenges Cincinnatians to think about how real estate can help build wealth and think outside the box.
“I think you’re going to see more people moving back in together—what happened with COVID—but not because of the pandemic, because of other financial factors,” Ray says. Part of her portfolio includes 13 “shared housing” properties, single-family homes that she rents to groups of people with common interests or backgrounds, like veterans, “golden girls,” or individuals with disabilities. That could be another option for those looking to buy their first home, Ray says.
Need more help? OHFA offers an online Homebuyer Education Course that is free to Ohioans who qualify for OHFA’s down payment assistance program. Complemented by a Homebuyer Guide available on the website, OHFA guides homebuyers through the process and teaches them to manage, maintain, and build equity in their home once they’ve completed the purchase.
“You’ve got this asset that is going to belong to you. It’s yours now,” Beagle says, “So you want to do it right, because it’s a big investment.”
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