Cleveland Multifamily Market Report

Steady growth in key industries stabilizes market. Health services, hospitality, transportation and warehousing accounted for over 80 percent of metro employment gains since 2021. Along with new local government positions, hiring in these sectors helped lower Cleveland’s unemployment rate from 6.8 percent to 4.0 percent in the same period. This increase in the proportion of income-earning residents has contributed to a net gain of nearly 7,000 households in the last two years, which helped fuel the surge in apartment demand observed in recent quarters. As a result, the metro posted its first vacancy declines since early 2022. Cleveland also recorded its second- strongest first-quarter absorption total on record this year.