Faro Labs / Markets / Akron, OH
Akron real estate investment market
What a typical rental in Akron, Ohio costs, rents for, and returns: underwritten by Faro's own engine, not a scraped summary.
Returns assume 20% down at 6.75% over 30 years, 7% vacancy, and standard operating costs: Faro's default assumptions, the same ones every report starts from. Home value and rent trends as of 2026-05-31.
Difficult for both
At market rent, a typical Akron rental runs $10 short each month, and home values moved 2.7% over the last year. Neither leg is carrying deals right now, which means the ones that work here are bought well below market rather than at it.
The price a deal actually works at
Faro models five price points for Akron, from a weak buy to a strong one. The market-rate deal is $142,923; a good buy is $128,631 and a great one $114,338 roughly 20% below market value. Those are the bars a specific listing gets measured against when you run it.
How Akron compares
Of the 210 markets Faro publishes, Akron is the 204th most expensive to buy into: 64% below the median covered market, and the 10th strongest on rent-to-price. Within Ohio it's the 3rd priciest of 6 markets we cover. On the last year of home-value change it ranks 31st.
To break even at the default financing, a typical Akron property would need about $1,174 a month in rent: $12 more than the $1,162 the market currently supports.
What each tier costs in Akron
Faro models five price points per market. A listing gets measured against these bars, not against a national average.
| Tier | Purchase price | Market rent | vs. market rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weak buy | $157,215 | $1,104/mo | +10% |
| Fair buy | $150,069 | $1,139/mo | +5% |
| Market rate | $142,923 | $1,162/mo | — |
| Good buy | $128,631 | $1,220/mo | -10% |
| Great buy | $114,338 | $1,278/mo | -20% |
A typical Akron deal, underwritten
The market-rate property above, run through the same engine every Faro report uses.
| Purchase price | $142,923 |
|---|---|
| Monthly rent | $1,162 |
| Cash required (20% down + 3% closing) | $32,872 |
| Net operating income | $8,780/yr |
| Monthly cash flow | -$10 |
| Cap rate | 6.1% |
| Cash-on-cash return | −0.4% |
| DSCR | 0.99 |
One of the cheapest ways in
At $142,923, a typical Akron property costs 64.0% less than the median market Faro covers: 204th most expensive of 210. Cash required at 20% down plus closing is about $32,872, which is what makes markets like this the usual starting point for a first rental. The trade is management: a cheap property is not a cheap property to run, and the fixed costs, a roof, a furnace, a turnover, are the same dollars against a much smaller rent.
Negotiation matters more than usual here
The gap between a market-rate Akron buy at $142,923 and a strong one at $114,338 is 20%: a wide band. In markets with a spread that size, what you pay relative to comps drives the return more than the market's own direction does. Two buyers in the same city, the same month, can end up with completely different deals.
Where it sits in Ohio
Faro covers 6 Ohio markets, and Akron is the 3th priciest of them at $142,923. Within a single state the tax and insurance environment is broadly shared, so the differences between these markets come down to price, rent, and pace, which makes them the most useful comparison set on this page. The nearby markets listed below are the rest of that set.
Akron investor questions
Is Akron a good place to buy rental property?
A typical Akron rental at $142,923 renting for $1,162 a month returns 6.1% on a cap-rate basis and runs short by $10 a month at 20% down. Individual deals vary far more than markets do, which is the whole reason to underwrite a specific address.
Can you cash-flow a rental in Akron?
Not at the market's own price and rent. A typical property runs $10 short each month. It would need about $1,174 in rent to break even. Deals that work here are bought below market rather than at it, which is what the price ladder above is for.
How much do you need to buy a rental in Akron?
About $32,872 at 20% down plus 3% closing on a typical $142,923 property: one of the lower entry points among the 210 markets covered here.
Are rents going up in Akron?
Rents moved up 5.7% over the last year, measured across 7 ZIP codes. The typical market-rate rental sits at $1,162 a month.
Other Ohio markets
Run the numbers yourself
A market average is not a deal.
Paste a real Akron listing and Faro underwrites that specific property from its own comps, with a target price you can actually offer.
Estimates for analysis and educational use only: not financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Verify every number independently before making a purchase decision.