UC experts weigh in on Cincinnati’s rising home prices

According to the Courier, Cincinnati's home prices increased 6.7% from June 2024 to June 2025. Two University of Cincinnati real estate experts offered detailed insight on what this means for the Queen City. 

“While the broader U.S. housing market is showing signs of cooling, Cincinnati did not experience the same run-up in prices over the past decade as many coastal or Sunbelt markets,” Eunjee Kwon, PhD, assistant professor of real estate at the UC’s Lindner College of Business, told the Courier. “In that context, the recent 6.7% increase may appear high, but it likely reflects a moderate correction or catch-up rather than overheating.”

Kwon also noted the shrinking supply of starter homes in the $200,000 to $300,000 range, despite the Midwest’s affordability compared to coastal cities. She said much of the construction in Cincinnati has been concentrated in higher-end single-family or multifamily units, creating limited availability of moderately priced, family-sized homes that are accessible to first-time buyers. 

The Courier also spoke to Gary Painter, PhD, academic director of real estate at Lindner. He said that the rising prices are understandable given the low supply, lack of building and high demand. “It's not a surprise at all that we're seeing prices going up in the Midwest, whereas other places they're not, and that can simply be from population resorting and really nothing else,” he told the Courier.

Painter said he does not anticipate this rise in prices to become the new normal. “What I anticipate will happen if we are to follow a healthy path is that in the next couple of years, you're going to see a lot more building happen,” he said. “If it doesn't happen, then the public sector really needs to look at itself in the mirror and say, ‘Are we not allowing a healthy ecosystem to develop here?’"

Read the Cincinnati Business Courier’s full report.

Featured image at top of coins stacked next to a model house. Photo/Adobe Stock.