Are Cincinnati’s rent prices really jumping that much?

UC real estate expert weighs in on the current renter landscape

WVXU’s Cincinnati Edition reported that Cincinnati is among the top five markets for apartment rent growth.

The program dug into what that means for renters by talking with University of Cincinnati economist Gary Painter.

“There’s greater demand for living in Cincinnati,” said Painter, professor and academic director of the Real Estate Center at UC's Lindner College of Business. “We just haven’t built enough units to keep pace with that increasing demand.”

He explained that Cincinnati’s rent prices were already lower than many other major cities across the country, like Dallas and Nashville. So even a small jump in price will cause a higher rent growth rate, making Cincinnati’s rent jumps look sharper in comparison to other cities. 

“For most renters, what they care about the most is if the rent goes up, does my income go up at least as much as that,” Painter said. 

To hear more about the macroeconomic effects on rent growth, listen to the WVXU interview. 

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